In 1942, the Anti-Japanese War and the Second World War were at their peak. The prairie fire was raging, people were suffering, natural disasters and man-made disasters were everywhere. When the military strategists and politicians focused their attention on the conquest and looting of cities and towns, few people noticed that a terrible drought was breaking out in the ancient Central Plains of Henan. The protagonist of the film, Lao Dongjia (played by Zhang Guoli), was cunning, mercenary, and a typical feudal landlord, but even so he could not resist this unprecedented disaster. He was forced to flee the famine and witnessed the deaths of his son, daughter-in-law, wife and other relatives. His experience is a microcosm of the three million victims. Facing the suffering of this group of people, whether it is the high-ranking Chairman Chiang (played by Chen Daoming), or the American reporter White (played by Adrien Brody) who went deep into the people to report the truth of the disaster, and everyone at home and abroad, how can they look away from this scene of purgatory on earth. Endless hopeless escape Kandu, the suffering of the Chinese nation more than fate ... ... The film is based on Liu Zhenyun's novel "The accidental 1942" adaptation.