World War 2. Two fighter pilots, one woman - with whom both are in love. Oh no! Another Pearl Harbour! No, this is a far cry from that stinker. Superb aerial photography with real (not digital) spitfires (including footage from The Battle of Britain 1969) lifts this otherwise bleak story. The film is told in flashbacks from a Soviet post-war forced labour camp in Czechoslovakia, as an inmate reminisces about better times. His story begins in 1938 with the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Two friends, Czech Air Force pilots, make an escape to Poland, the Nazis' next target. Opening again in England after the fall of Poland, the film chronicles the exploits of the two in a Czech Squadron of the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and the attraction they both feel toward an English woman whose naval officer husband is missing in action. In Czechoslovakia after the war, the principal character finds himself imprisoned for having been 'polluted' by the West.

In contemporary Beijing, Guei (Cui) has just arrived from his small village, where he acquires a job as a bicycle messenger and is paid 10 yuan a day. Once he has earned 600 yuan he can purchase the bicycle he has on loan. Just before Guei has paid off the bicycle, it's stolen, robbing him of his livelihood. He searches all over for his bike and eventually spots a young man riding it. Jian (Li) claims that he had bought it at a flea market. The two struggle for ownership of the bike. For Jian the bike is a status symbol, his dream of success. For Guei the bike is a matter of survival. The confrontation escalates to a dramatic and unexpected finale. The film depicts modern Beijing with all its contrasts: social and economic class differences, urban and rural folk, modern skyscrapers and ancient buildings.