China, the 1980's. Ming is an only child born to loving parents during the 'one child per family' regime. She is lucky, but many children in her village are not.

Second-born children are outlawed. They hide under their houses during the day and live their life only by night. Ming cannot ignore the situation and chooses to sneak out time after time to play with her friends - the children of the night.

Until one night, the authorities raid her village, and brutally remove all the 'identity-less' children who are playing outside, including Ming. The militia takes them to a remote children's house on the southern border of China for re-education.

There, under harsh conditions of cold, hunger and physical abuse, Ming spends her adolescence, despite the fact that she has an identity. The only bright spots in her life are her friends and her love of reading. The longing for her parents grows stronger every day, instilling in her a strong desire to regain her freedom.

Will Ming be able to escape and find her way back into her parents' arms?