The film zooms in on a third-grade class in a primary school in the city of Wuhan, central China. These schoolchildren have their first encounter with democratic rules through a class experiment. Three eight-year old children compete for the position of class monitor, influenced by their doting parents, for whom they are their only child – as enforced by state policy. The three main characters take up the challenge in different ways through their campaign strategies, canvassing and election promises. Less self-conscious than their parents, they reflect existing social values more bluntly and honestly than adults.