Thunderstorm

Two children stumble into the former Zhou mansion, now a Catholic hospital. Inside, two disturbed patients are cared for by nuns while an elderly man, old Mr Zhou, visits. Through nurses' remarks, it is revealed that three people died there ten years earlier and the house is considered haunted. The prologue ends with the older woman collapsing at the window.

In the Zhou drawing room, Lu Gui tells Sifeng about Fanyi's secret affair with Zhou Ping. Sifeng is shocked because she herself is secretly in love with Ping. The conversation exposes the danger of scandal within the family and foreshadows the tragedy to come.

Zhou Ping enters with a tense air, while Fanyi shows mixed feelings about the family's expectations. Puyuan orders Fanyi to drink a traditional medicine to cure her 'mental imbalance', and she reluctantly obeys under his authority. Ping watches, uneasy, as the power of tradition cements its grip on the household.

Puyuan fondly recalls Shiping, Ping's supposed birth mother, and displays her photograph in the drawing room. He rebukes Ping for his drinking and loose conduct, underscoring the entrenched hypocrisy of the family. The memory hints at a hidden lineage that will explode later.

Lu Dahai, Shiping's son who does not yet know Puyuan is his father, arrives at the Zhou house to challenge the master's exploitation. Ping confronts him, Dahai insults the Zhou family, and Ping punches Dahai while servants eject him. Mrs Lu exits with Dahai, revealing the volatile clash between class, loyalty, and the family's secrets.

In the afternoon, Ping privately meets Sifeng in the drawing room and tells her of his plan to leave the family and work in the countryside with his father. Sifeng begs him not to go, but he remains torn between love and duty. The moment deepens the rift between them and raises the stakes of their secrecy.

Mrs Lu, Sifeng's mother, arrives for an appointment with Fanyi and recognizes herself in Shiping's photograph, though she does not disclose this to Sifeng. She keeps her truth hidden to protect the fragile peace of the household. The exchange foreshadows the buried past that will erupt with fatal consequences.

Zhou Ping secretly meets Sifeng in the drawing room and declares his intention to leave his home for good. Sifeng pleads for him to stay despite the social costs. The lovers' resolve tightens the web of secrets binding the Zhou family.

Late at night, Zhou Ping climbs through Sifeng's window for a private embrace. Dahai suddenly enters with a pistol, forcing a confrontation that drives the lovers to flee into the rain. The family races after them into a storm that mirrors the coming catastrophe.

Back in the Zhou living room, Fanyi confronts Ping and accuses him of conspiring with his father. She begs him to take her away and, in a fit of rage, tears up Shiping's picture. The illusion of family order fractures as guilt and rage spill over.

Sifeng reveals she is pregnant with Ping's child, intensifying the urgency to flee. Mrs Lu attempts to stop them, aware of the social and familial dangers, while the brothers wrestle with what they owe to each other. The escape plan becomes a desperate gamble against an unbridgeable past.

Puyuan enters and, unaware of the full romance, learns that Mrs Lu is Ping's mother and that Sifeng and Ping are half-siblings. A hushed, catastrophic truth settles over the room as the last chance for reconciliation vanishes.

The escape degenerates into tragedy as Sifeng and Zhou Chong are electrocuted by a broken live wire while fleeing the house. Ping, overwhelmed by desperation, shoots himself, leaving the family to confront their ruin. The house remains haunted by the revelation of their hidden lineage.

In a hospital ten years later, old Mr Zhou asks about the old woman and laments the lack of news about Lu Dahai. He remains haunted by the past as he stares into the fire, a man defined by his losses. The tragedy continues to echo through the present, long after the events have ended.