Only the River Flows

In 1995, police captain Ma Zhe investigates the murder of an elderly woman called Granny Four in a small riverside town in rural China. The main suspect is a mentally ill drifter she had adopted, known only as “the madman.” During the investigation, Ma Zhe discovers a cassette tape containing emotional recordings between two secret lovers, Qian Ling and Wang Hong. The tape leads the police into hidden relationships, poetry gatherings, and clues about a mysterious woman with long wavy hair seen near the crime scene.