满清王朝被推翻后不久，豪绅家族随之衰落。高先生与原配妻子所生的三个儿子都受到当时封建礼教的压迫。大儿子高俊信是一个极其软弱的人。他不敢流露出不满，也不敢说出来，只好屈服于家人的要求，同意和李瑞玉结婚，尽管他心里很爱一个叫梅小姐的女孩。瑞玉后来因法典的压迫而死。家庭进一步衰落。当进步思想开始席卷中国时，觉新终于开始觉醒。二儿子高觉民爱上了青小姐，但决定遵从自己的内心，嫁给自己喜欢的人。他拒绝了家人安排的婚姻并搬了出去。三儿子高觉辉爱上了家仆明峰，并热心参加学生运动。当当地伦理协会理事长要纳明凤为妾时，她选择了投河自尽。觉慧决定脱离家庭，投身革命。

"Family" (1953), which launched the Union Film legacy, "Spring" (1953) and "Autumn" (1954) are adaptations of Ba Jin's highly regarded novel "Torrent Trilogy". In "Family", director Ng Wui skilfully condenses the voluminous first part of the novel into an emotionally powerful and intellectually focused story of youngsters struggling to survive oppression and repression in a feudalistic family. This well-received film quickly established the company's reputation.