1937年，日本帝国主义悍然发动侵华战争，中华民族从此进入了生死存亡的关键时期。连绵三个月的淞沪会战以国军败退黯然落幕，日寇的铁蹄踏碎十里洋场的歌舞梦，各方势力在这座繁华的大都市内激烈角逐、碰撞撕扯，局势动荡不安。在时代的乱流中，小人物徐天（张鲁一 饰）的命运不由自主地发生翻天覆地的改变。徐天原本是一个有色盲缺陷的普通小会计，谁知竟意外卷入了地下党和日寇的火并厮杀中。地下党人为理想捐弃生命的崇高品德感染了徐天，于是他利用自己机敏的头脑协助爱国者运送重要物资。在此期间，他结识了铁林（周一围 饰）、金爷（李天柱 饰）等有着复杂背景的人，更邂逅了恍若仙姝的美丽女子田丹（陶虹 饰）。 晦暗乱世下上海滩的传奇，徐天不仅见证，还将参与历史变革的重要时刻……

A middle-aged man sets out to find a new career when he learns he's picked the wrong time to retire in this gentle comedy-drama from China. Wang Kangmei (Fan Wei) is a good-humored working stuff who after four decades as an engineer for the Chinese railway has taken early retirement. Wang's timing was less than ideal, as his wife (Cheng Shubo) falls ill and ends up in the hospital shortly after Wang's leaves his job. But Wang is a cheerful and quietly patriotic man who believes that the government will do the right thing for him and that he'll be able to find work if he tries. Wang's father (Cheng Shubo) isn't so confident, but that doesn't stop Wang from spending the day pursuing various sorts of employment, from operating a bicycle-cab to auditioning for an opera company.