The film follows a blue-collar worker (Ge You) in Beijing as he attempts to acquire a dog license in 18 hours for his beloved unlicensed Cala.

Despite this, during its world premiere in Berlin, sales agents from Celestial Pictures billed the film as a more zany, traditional comedy.

[1] Lao Er (Ge You) lives a humdrum life as a laborer in Beijing with his wife Yu Lan (Ding Jiali), his son Liangliang (Li Bin) and his beloved dog, Cala.

Lao Er's life is thrown into turmoil when the government in an effort to control rabies, decrees that all unlicensed dogs are to be cast out of the city.

When that too fails, Lao Er becomes desperate, all while dealing with a wife who becomes increasingly jealous over his visits to his neighbor, and a son who is arrested after getting into a fight...