The Crossing

In the Manchurian front, Major General Lei Yifang personally commands an assault against Japanese lines. His unit overcomes the defenses and secures a decisive victory, boosting his standing and morale. The victory sets the tone for Lei's rapid ascent within the Nationalist army.

Dr. Yen Zekun is captured during the operation and shipped to a prison camp in Fengtian. The capture marks the beginning of years apart from Lei Yifang and the rest of his life within enemy lines. On the POW train, Yen reads a letter from his lover Masako, hinting at a personal tragedy to come.

For his battlefield success, Lei Yifang is promoted to lieutenant general, transferring from field commander to higher-echelon leadership. The promotion acknowledges his effectiveness yet foreshadows greater responsibilities and risks. Lei's pride carries him into strategic decisions that will shape the war's outcome.

While imprisoned, Yen receives a letter from Masako that wells up with longing and unresolved passion. The scene deepens Yen's inner conflict, torn between loyalty to his captors and his memories of Masako. This letter becomes a symbol of a fractured romance across wartime borders.

In Shanghai as the Civil War resumes, Yu Zhen volunteers as an orderly at a Nationalist hospital, dreaming of reuniting with her long-lost boyfriend. The harsh wartime environment tests her resolve and reveals the cost of love amid chaos. Her resilience will later intersect with the fates of Lei and Yen.

General Lei catches the eye of Zhou Yunfen at a charity event in Shanghai, and their romance quickly leads to marriage. The union combines old money with war-front ambition, setting up a liaison that will be tested by distance and ideology. The wedding marks a pivotal moment in both their lives.

Zhou becomes pregnant and worries about leaving him behind as war rages. Lei tries to reassure her, but she ultimately departs for Taiwan aboard the Taiping, with her sister and belongings. Lei watches her leave from afar, a silent witness to the personal toll of the war.

Yen arrives in Taiwan and reconnects with family, while Masako's diary is discovered or burned in the family home. The diary and Masako's past forge a bridge of memory between Yen and Zhou through shared artistry and longing. Yen's return to Taiwan redefines his loyalties and future choices.

Yu's attempts to survive push her into prostitution after the city’s clubs close for the war effort. She endures exploitation while striving to secure enough money to travel to Taiwan and find her missing lover. The hardship underscores the human cost of the war on ordinary lives.

Lei's 12th Army finds itself encircled during the Huaihai Campaign as supply lines run dry. An initial breakout order is countermanded, forcing Lei to confront the possibility that he will fight his own countrymen. He grapples with duty, loyalty, and the brutal reality of civil war.

A segment of Lei's forces defects to the Communists, and Tong attempts to report the treachery but is blocked by a fellow soldier. The moment exposes the fragility of trust and the perilous boundaries soldiers cross under pressure. The war's human costs escalate as loyalties fracture.

In the final moments of the breakout, Lei is killed by a tank shell after guiding his troops. Before dying, he entrusts Tong with his diary addressed to Zhou, seeking to ensure his memory lives on. Tong vows to deliver the diary to Zhou, preserving Lei's legacy.

Three couples flee from China to Taiwan, but their voyage ends in a catastrophic collision and sinking. Yen Zekun helps the injured on the wreckage but dies, haunted by Masako's memory. Yu Zhen and Tong survive, clinging to debris as an Australian HMAS rescue recovers 31 survivors.

Four months after the disaster, Zhou Yunfen gives birth to Lei Yifang's son. Tong arrives to confirm Lei's death and to deliver Lei's diary thanks to Yu Zhen's efforts. Zhou and Yu Zhen express gratitude, keeping Lei's memory alive for their new child.