Dark Night and Dawn Recap, Plot, Synopsis, Total Episodes

Dark Night and Dawn Synopsis

In 1943, a shocking explosion case in Shanghai brought together Lu Zhengyang, an underground Communist Party member, and Lin Shaobai, a former police officer. Both men demonstrated their unique skills during this initial encounter. Six years later, after the liberation of Shanghai, Lu Zhengyang became a key figure in the city’s public security bureau’s anti-espionage unit. Faced with the tough challenges of counterintelligence work, Lu, with the support of his leaders, boldly recruited Lin Shaobai, the former policeman known as the "Shanghai Know-it-all," after careful scrutiny.

The two became partners, working together to crack major cases such as the "Great Treasury Robbery," the "Counterfeit Currency Case," and the "Hidden Radio Station Case," all masterminded by veteran secret agent Zheng Lanting of the Shanghai Special Station of the National Security Bureau. Through their efforts, they ultimately thwarted the schemes of enemy agents hiding in the shadows. During the investigation, Lu Zhengyang and Lin Shaobai evolved from constant friction to mutual trust, eventually becoming comrades who would live and die together.

Dark Night and Dawn Recap

Episode 1 Recap

In May 1949, on the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, police officer Lin Shaobai had a gun pointed at his head. If he didn't execute the person in front of him, it would be his own life on the line. The clock rewinds twelve hours earlier. Lin Shaobai, a young man from a wealthy Shanghai family, went out to stockpile goods to prepare for the imminent war.

The last time he didn't stockpile enough, the memory of his hunger was still vivid, and he didn't want to go through that again. Lin Shaobai, working at the police station, believed that the bandits wouldn't dare to touch him. Confidently, he rode his bicycle to the police station to collect his salary. The streets were chaotic—some people were beaten, others cried. Lin Shaobai couldn’t help them, so he silently pedaled past without stopping.

At the police station, Ye Shiwu was in the middle of beating someone. Lin Shaobai tried to sneak by unnoticed, pretending to be invisible, but Ye Shiwu called out to him. Director Ye informed him that due to financial constraints, Lin Shaobai’s salary would be reduced by 20%. Lin Shaobai was unhappy but had no choice but to accept it. Ye Shiwu also warned him not to boast just because his father had died in the line of duty.

Lin Shaobai let the words go in one ear and out the other, as he didn’t take Ye Shiwu seriously. A truck carrying Jin Yuan Coupons (a form of currency) arrived. Lin Shaobai and Xu Wei worked together, diverting the people in the warehouse so they could sneak in and steal goods as compensation for their reduced wages.

However, the front yard was filled with people collecting their pay, so Lin Shaobai and Xu Wei hid the goods in a box, planning to secretly take them out during overtime in the evening. Lin Shaobai told Xu Wei that these goods were in high demand and could fetch the equivalent of two years’ worth of their salary at the market.

But just as they were about to leave with the goods that evening, the police station was brightly lit, and surprisingly, Mao Sen, the head of the station, was there. Ye Shiwu had brought in a group of Communist Party members to be secretly executed, and Lin Shaobai and Xu Wei accidentally stumbled upon it. They tried to sneak away, but Ye Shiwu caught them. Ye Shiwu decided to make them each execute two of the Communist Party members.

Once the bullets were fired, their hands would be stained with the blood of Communist members, leading to the scene where Lin Shaobai had a gun to his head, forced by Ye Shiwu to pull the trigger. Thinking quickly, Lin Shaobai shouted upstairs, claiming he had urgent enemy intelligence to report. Mao Sen heard this and told him to come upstairs to report. Having overheard some information earlier, Lin Shaobai offered to stay behind as an undercover agent.

Knowing that Mao Sen desperately needed undercover operatives in Shanghai, Lin Shaobai pointed out that neither he nor Xu Wei had blood on their hands yet, and they had no ties to the Bureau of Confidential Affairs, making them trustworthy. Mao Sen was eventually convinced by Lin Shaobai. However, Xu Wei, thinking the plan had failed, shot and killed the two Communist members in frustration.

Few dared to negotiate with Mao Sen, so Mao Sen believed he could impose his conditions, forcing Lin Shaobai to work for him. After leaving the police station, Lin Shaobai devised a plan to escape to Hong Kong with Xu Wei. Meanwhile, Mao Sen personally sought out Zheng Lanting, also known as Bailao, trying to persuade him to come out of retirement.

Zheng Lanting had no interest in taking up an official post, but what did interest him was the list of all the undercover agents in Shanghai that Mao Sen held. Unable to make the decision on his own, Mao Sen failed to strike a deal with Zheng Lanting. He left his secretary, Liu Guihang, in Shanghai to wait for the right opportunity to seize the trump card that Zheng Lanting held.

That night, Lin Shaobai and Xu Wei took three women and prepared to board a boat. Xu Wei went to purchase tickets but found there were only four. Xu Wei initially intended for Lin Shaobai to take his wife and Lin Shaobai’s two mothers, but Lin Shaobai volunteered to stay behind—and was then captured again by Ye Shiwu.

Episode 2 Recap

Ye Shiwu planned to stay behind to blow up the power plant, but since the chief engineer Rong had not arrived, he had no idea where to place the explosives. Lin Shaobai was sent over to help with the work, but he seized the opportunity to try and escape with the car keys. Just as the car started, Ye Shiwu and his men stopped him again.

Lin Shaobai lied, claiming that he was going to find the chief engineer, saying that his Uncle Jin—Jin Maochang—had often invited the chief engineer for meals, and he had attended many times. Ye Shiwu didn’t believe him and ordered his men to detain Lin Shaobai, giving further instructions that when the explosion happened, Lin Shaobai was to be tied to the center of the blast site, and it would be reported that Lin Shaobai had died in the line of duty.

Shortly after, the chief engineer Rong Zheng arrived. Lin Shaobai introduced himself to Rong Zheng, and Ye Shiwu used him to test whether Rong Zheng was the real engineer. Rong Zheng immediately pointed out that Lin Shaobai wasn’t a secretary but a policeman because on the day of the meal, Lin Shaobai had worn his police uniform. With this, Ye Shiwu had no further doubts about Rong Zheng and invited him inside to arrange where to place the explosives.

Meanwhile, Xu Wei, who was on the boat, saw Lin Shaobai being taken away by Ye Shiwu. He quickly disembarked and returned to look for Lin Shaobai. After making some arrangements, Rong Zheng excused himself to go to the restroom. Lin Shaobai also planned to escape through the restroom, but Rong Zheng threw away the wire he was using to pick the lock and flee.

In desperation, Lin Shaobai admitted that he had never been to the Sassoon House for a meal and had never met Rong Zheng, meaning that Rong Zheng’s claim of recognizing him was a lie. Lin Shaobai also realized that this Rong Zheng and Ye Shiwu were not on the same side and that Rong Zheng must have been a Communist agent sent to rescue the power plant.

Lin Shaobai threatened to expose Rong Zheng’s identity by shouting, but Rong Zheng warned him not to make any noise, or it would lead to his death. Rong Zheng hinted that once his mission was complete, he might come back to save Lin Shaobai. Xu Wei went directly to Mao Sen, hoping he could help find Lin Shaobai, but instead, Mao Sen had Xu Wei join him on the mission to the island.

Ye Shiwu received a phone call and learned that the real Engineer Rong had been taken hostage. At this moment, the fake Rong Zheng dismissed Ye Shiwu's men and began dismantling the detonator wires. Ye Shiwu quickly gathered his men and surrounded the imposter Rong Zheng. Meanwhile, the driver had received an order to cut the power, and in the darkness, Rong Zheng was able to hold Ye Shiwu hostage.

However, Old Dong, Cao Rui, and others refused to free the Communist Party members in exchange for Ye Shiwu's safety. Ye Shiwu was eventually shot dead by his own men. Lin Shaobai, who had witnessed the entire event from the shadows, hesitated briefly before deciding to drive over and rescue the fake Rong Zheng. The two of them were then surrounded.

Rong Zheng told Lin Shaobai to support him and escort him out, giving them a chance to act, but before Lin Shaobai could respond, they heard the sound of the Liberation Army approaching. The Liberation Army entered the city and saved both Lin Shaobai and the fake Rong Zheng. The fake Rong Zheng was actually Lu Zhengyang, a seasoned Communist spy whom Lin Shaobai had met four years earlier.

Lin Shaobai was disarmed and taken into custody, and as he was led away, he saw many Liberation Army comrades lying on the ground. He learned that the soldiers had promised not to disturb civilian homes, honoring their commitment to the people of Shanghai. Lin Shaobai’s two mothers went to cry to Jin Maochang, deeply worried about Shaobai. Meanwhile, Liu Guihang, who had been left behind by Mao Sen, was quickly discovered by Zheng Lanting (also known as Bailao).

Liu Guihang, who had been monitoring communications, knew that he had been exposed. He left the watch shop but was already being tailed by Bailao's hawk-like surveillance team. Although Bailao wasn’t there in person, he kept close tabs on Liu Guihang’s movements and eventually waited for him at the Blue Chimney Pier, run by a British firm. Though Bailao didn’t do anything, his mere presence humiliated Liu Guihang for thinking he was clever. Two days later, Lu Zhengyang personally led the interrogation of Lin Shaobai, who appeared ready to confess everything.

Episode 3 Recap

Lu Zhengyang wanted to uncover the truth about the incident on Fuzhou Road four years ago to honor Comrade Wen Tian, who sacrificed his life while in hiding. Lin Shaobai, a former policeman, was a key figure in that event. Four years ago, Lin Shaobai and Xu Wei used traffic violations as an excuse to detain Lu Zhengyang and his comrades while they were on a mission, indirectly leading to the death of several of Lu Zhengyang's comrades.

Lin Shaobai played dumb until Lu Zhengyang presented the case file from the Fuzhou Road bombing, which bore Lin Shaobai’s signature. Lin Shaobai admitted that he had signed under duress from Ye Shiwu, but Lu Zhengyang didn't believe him. At that moment, Jin Yan, claiming to be Lin Shaobai's friend, arrived at the public security bureau. When her request to bail him out was denied, she tried to arrange a visit, but was also refused.

Jin Yan then produced a copy of the Eight-Point Code of Conduct of the Liberation Army, arguing that Lin Shaobai was neither a war criminal nor a counter-revolutionary. According to international conventions, the public security bureau should not detain Lin Shaobai for more than 24 hours. Lu Zhengyang countered, explaining that Lin Shaobai was involved in a serious case, which made such conventions inapplicable.

He assured Jin Yan that the investigation would be fair and just, and that if Lin Shaobai was innocent, the process would ultimately benefit him. Jin Yan left, hoping Lu Zhengyang would keep his word. Shortly after, Lu Zhengyang paid a special visit to Lin Shaobai's two mothers, assuring them not to worry. Meanwhile, Lin Shaobai was still unaware that his brother Xu Wei and his two mothers had not left Shanghai as planned.

During another interrogation, Lin Shaobai truthfully recounted the events of four years ago but claimed to know nothing beyond that. Lu Zhengyang, with his years of experience, could see that Lin Shaobai was tough and stubborn, refusing to reveal any useful information, regardless of threats or persuasion. Whether Lin Shaobai was a co-conspirator or simply caught up in events still needed thorough investigation.

Meanwhile, Zheng Lanting (also known as Bailao) was tasked with his first mission: to retrieve the money from the underground vault at Jinsheng Bank. When the principal of Minli Primary School took the students to visit and show respect to the Liberation Army soldiers, Zheng Lanting, posing as an art teacher, went along to take photos to keep track of time.

His subordinate, Wang Liqun, disguised himself as a Liberation Army soldier in charge of taking over Jinsheng Bank and emptied the vault, killing the comrades who were guarding it. Lu Zhengyang was given one week by his superiors to solve the case. Upon arriving at the crime scene, Lu Zhengyang noticed ear prints left by the person who had been picking the lock on the iron door.

He also learned that the local military had been delayed by over 20 minutes due to the visit from Minli Primary School, even though the trip should have taken just 15 minutes. Lu Zhengyang, posing as a reporter, visited Principal Shen at Minli Primary School for an interview. However, everything Principal Shen said matched the accounts of the other teachers, and his background was clean.

The crime was either a coincidence or the robbers had gotten wind of the visit schedule and used it as an opportunity to rob the vault. Lin Shaobai, being clever, realized that those who had been recently arrested were all involved in thefts. By analyzing the locations, he deduced that the Jinsheng Bank vault had been robbed. Lin Shaobai shouted that he could solve the case and provided Lu Zhengyang with a lead on Ghost Hand Luo San.

Lin Shaobai took Lu Zhengyang to find Luo San, only to discover that Luo San had already fled. Lin Shaobai then led Lu Zhengyang to Luo San’s favorite breakfast stall, where he identified a skinny man as Luo San's accomplice. Lu Zhengyang believed him, but the skinny man didn’t recognize Luo San and wasn’t even called "Skinny. " Realizing he had been deceived, Lu Zhengyang turned around, only to find that Lin Shaobai had already disappeared.

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