The racing pigeon 043 that disappeared in a race seven years ago now flies back. Legally, a missing person can be declared dead after seven years. Ah-Chin (a raiser of racing pigeons and the master of the said pigeon) and his wife Ah-Min disagreed on the declaration of the death of their son Xiao-Shi missing for years, and their disturbed daughter Monroe aspires to run away for freedom.
Monroe hides Xiao-Hu, a young bird smuggler, in her house after Xiao-Hu’s delinquency is disclosed. The boy begins to learn about pigeon breeding, with Ah-Chin acting as a fatherly instructor. Ah-Chin educates Xiao-Hu in a way to compensate for his parenting failure, whereas Ah-Min secretly applies for a declaration of the death of Xiao-Shi, leading to tumults in the family.
Xiao-Hu quietly took revenge by catching pigeons with nets, an act doomed to failure. At the threshold between yin and yang, pigeons scream loudly, as if to signal the return Ah-Chin long aspires to.