Lu Xiaoman, the daughter of a convicted official, is exiled with her entire family to the Bitter Salt Flats, a place notorious as a land of death. Armed with the salt-drying techniques passed down by her maternal grandfather and her extraordinary intelligence, she unites impoverished salt workers to rebuild salt ponds, restore salt production, and develop fishing and shellfish businesses. She outsmarts the ruthless gentry who monopolize the salt ponds and the conspirators pulling the strings behind the scenes, gradually uncovering the old injustices of the salt case and clearing her father's name. She also leads the people of the salt flats out of their bitter hardship, transforming the barren wasteland into a prosperous place where everyone can live and work in peace.