In the tradition of the great exploratory dramas like "The Weeping Camel" and "The Cave of the Yellow Dog", "The Red Awn" takes us inside rural China to a lifestyle we are unlikely to have ever witnessed first hand.

Whenever the wheat becomes golden, thousands of drifters leave their homes; migrating from one place to another, to make a living working in the wheat fields.

A 50 year old father leaves his wife and son back in their hometown and goes off to the city in order to earn a living. Years go by, and during that time his wife passes away and his son grows up in the countryside alone and directionless.

Five years later he returns to the home he left behind. With the upcoming harvest season, the father reunites with his resentful son, and together they try to get through the harvest, and rebuild their shattered past so they can face the future together.