The film takes its story from oral traditions of Shandong. Amidst raging civil war and pending Japanese occupation, a village simpleton Niu'er is charged with caring for a Dutch cow, considered an object of awe & prestige to the village given its larger size and ability to produce large amounts of milk. When the village is bombed by the Japanese, Niu'er flees from his home, only to return to devastation and everyone in the village dead. The cow, however, has survived, and the two start their story of survival.