The true story of a band of laid-off workers from state-owned companies who set out to risk their own fortunes in the private sector and then find out that success ain't what it used to be. After getting laid-off from a state-owned shipbuilder, a middle-aged worker uses all of his savings, borrows some money, and then convinces a group of friends who are in similar circumstances, to join him in an apartment decoration/construction business in Shanghai. After the initial difficulties of starting a business, they begin to show a profit. Then, disaster strikes when they are cheated out of all their money in a construction project scam. They are devastated, but there is nothing that they can do. The money and the thieves have all disappeared. After counting their losses, they borrow money from everyone they can find including loan sharks and start-up the company again from zero. Soon, their hard work pays off and once again they find themselves along the path to success.