Adapted from the novel Remembering 1942 by Liu Zhen Yun, "Back to 1942" is a historical piece that revolves around the drought that took place in Henan Province, China in 1942 which led to a severe famine that forced 10 million people to flee from Henan to the Shannxi Province in order to survive. The film chronicles the perilous journey the refugees make as they walk all the way to Shannxi. Along the way, some died of starvation while others are killed by the bombs from Japanese airplanes. Reliefs from the government come too late as high ruling officials are not aware of the actual situation in Hennan back then. As a result, this leads to the death of about 3 million refugees.