Dust Verdict

In a gritty corner of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, 1943, a young woman's defiant appeal against a forced marriage uncovers a string of brutal murders among the poorest peasant families. Detective-investigator Ma Xiwu, armed with progressive ideals, descends into a slum where hunger turns neighbor against neighbor. He solves the case – but the killer's conviction exposes a collective moral collapse that no verdict can heal.