A young filmmaker returns to China after his brother dies in a fire back home. He travels from the bustling metropolis of Shanghai to a remote monastery on the snowy Tian-Mu Mountain, where he reunites with his mother. His encounters with different people in the monastery become a subtle, intimate and mysterious study on the human condition.
Depicting the revival of life through the metaphor of the winter cicada, this film paints a poignant portrait of family, loss and guilt along with the steady beat of Buddhist chants.
如果你的出生注定是为他人存在，你的生命会背负怎样的沉重？若可以选择，你会何去何从？
得知大哥在一场大火中丧生，陈拓从法国赶回浙江。他追随母亲的足迹，来到了大雪覆盖，天目山顶的禅寺，和多年未见面的母亲重聚，参加大哥的葬礼。母子之间的爱与恨以及家事的旧日伤痕就此展开。
这是一个身处绝境而欲求解脱的现代故事。