Working as a secretary for a legal office, Xiaofen records clients detailing the sordid aspects of their lives: divorce cases, medical malpractice suits, financial corruption and old-fashioned personal revenge. Xiaofen starts to question her own relationship with her boyfriend (Deng Gang), fresh out of prison and looking to get into trouble again with his gambling habit. While Xiaofen deals with the overwhelming social malaise surrounding her, rumors spread of a disaster at the local chemical plant, threatening to poison the entire city.

在律师事务所做书记员的小芬，整天用她的笔记录着这座西南地区发展中城市里各色女子所遭遇的一切。而小芬自己的生活也很没有安全感：同居的男友忽然失踪了，可能是卷入了一场凶杀案；她的妈妈、她的女性朋友也一样过着没有依托的日子。 　　这部片子由两个交替出现的部分组成：一部分是小芬在律师事务所里对各色女子口述的记录，另一部分是对小芬及其身边女子遭遇的叙述。采用这样的一个结构，是想让这部电影成为一份中国内陆城市（农村）女性生存状态的简报。