During the Republic of China (1912-1949), a Beijing Opera actor named Wu Yuqin specializes in performing in female roles. Though this tradition has always had a dubious history, Yuqin is moral and upright man. He takes the stage name Qiu Haitang and is invited to dinner by an admiring warlord Yuan. He later meets Luo Xiangqi, a graduate of a female performance school. The two of them fall in love but it turns out that she is Warlord Yuan's wife. Later, Luo Xiangqi becomes pregnant with Yuqin's child. Yuan's adjutant Ji discovers their secret and blackmailed Qiu Haitang frequently, even scarring his face.