Qiao (played by Tao Zhao) a gangster’s girlfriend in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi, dreams of an immutable kind of love, the one that defies and lasts. Her and her boyfriend seem on the periphery of society, like dark angels, hovering nearby. She bides her time, even though she doesn’t embrace the lifestyle fully, and, after a violent incident involving him (Bin, played by Fan Liao), instead of turning on him she goes to jail, for