Returning from the capital Beijing to his hometown in rural China, Tao Lin, a dedicated inspector for the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), finds the formerly beautiful Wenyu Lake severely polluted by industrial enterprises. Heavy air pollution, untreated wastewater from surrounding factories and an illegal goldmine pose serious health hazards to those reliant on the water. Tao Lin's determined fight to force polluters to comply with the state's environmental regulations make him an enemy of the local businesses who fear for the loss of their profits. Bribed and heavily compromised local Chinese Communist Party officials turn against Tao Lin as he threatens to slow the runaway development of the town. Tao Lin is unjustly imprisoned for subverting the authority of the Chinese Communist Party, only to be rescued by his boss, Madame Sun, the head of the SEPA in Beijing and his biggest ally. With Tao Lin continuing his fight against the polluters, he is once again threatened with arrest, and this time Madame Sun is not there to protect him.