In post-Cultural Revolution China, Chiu Maguang, a Marxist philosophy professor at Harbin University, goes out for lunch with his new wife during their honeymoon. Two rogue policemen assault Chiu and throw tea on the couple. They falsely accuse Chiu of causing a public disturbance and detain him at the local police station. Chiu protests their allegations. He notes that he will be late for his train and lists off his credentials as a professor, to no avail. At the station, the policemen coerce Chiu into writing a self-criticism that admits his crimes as a “saboteur”. Chiu refuses, which lengthens his detainment. Chiu’s untreated hepatitis causes him to suffer further.  The next day, Fenjin, a lawyer and former student of Chiu sent by Chiu’s wife, comes to help free Chiu. However, he is similarly detained and tortured by the police. Chiu, whose condition worsens, decides to confess to the false allegations in order to free Fenjin and himself. Upon their release, Chiu is enraged by the treatment he and Fenjin endured. “If only I could kill all the bastards!” he says. Chiu and Fenjin go to several restaurants—but Chiu only eats a few bites of each meal. Within a month, over 800 people mysteriously contract acute hepatitis, six of whom die. Chiu's restaurant eating spree likely caused the epidemic, making him a saboteur after all.