The film records rare footage of 16 alumni of the National Southwest Associated University, among them Chen-Ning Yang, Xu Yuanchong and Wang Xiji, whose average age is over 96. It recreates the history of how Tsinghua, Peking and Nankai universities moved south to Kunming during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and founded the National Southwest Associated University. Studying amid the flames of war, they went on to devote their lives to building New China, and their ranks include Nobel laureates, founding scientists of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" program and the "first translator" of Asia, people whose contributions to the country and the world have been great and far-reaching. The film tells of the university's resolute and persevering history and the moving stories behind its ideals of "saving the nation through education" and "serving the country through study", and portrays a group of masters of brilliance and integrity.