This is an abridged version of the first of the trilogy The Torrents: Family.Spring.Autumn, masterpiece of Ba Jin, one of the great writers of modern Chinese literature. The trilogy recounts the decline of a large feudal family following the May Fourth Movement of 1919.

In Autumn something is dying: the large feudal family has collapsed, taking with it young victims of feudal moral ethics. But something is also awakening: a new young generation, breaking with tradition, emerges from the feudal ruins.