在这部天明剧情片中,渔村姑娘菱菱与表哥捕鱼为生。时军阀战争频仍，农村破产，菱菱与表哥被迫流入大城市谋生，同在一家纱厂做工。后来，表哥当了水手，漂泊重洋。菱菱涉世不深，不识城市社会黑暗，受纱厂少东家诱惑，被骗失身，旋又被卖入妓院，过着地狱般的生活。两年以后，已参加革命军的表哥回到上海，遭敌人追捕。在危急关头，菱菱冒死帮助表哥脱逃，自己则被捕处以死刑。天明时分，菱菱被押赴刑场，菱菱知道表哥和无数战士，正努力为受压迫的群众争自由、谋解放、求光明，因此毫无悲哀，含笑就义……
Fishing village girl Ling Ling sets off to look for her cousin in Shanghai. She soon finds out that Shanghai is a city full of vice: she is raped, sold into prostitution, and later becomes a socialite who uses her earnings to help others. She still waits at the pier in the hope that she sees her sailor lover return from the sea one day. By then, the revolution is starting to gain momentum.
下层女性走向革命的浪漫化传奇（Romance）之路。抬杠好累。
