A detective (Huang Guangliang) searches for an elusive Li Chonggao. Failing at that, he collects evidence taken from a rumpled bed, photographs the empty room, and attempts to question the locals. Outside the room, he meets a mysterious and enigmatic young woman, Yu Ran, who refuses to reveal how she is connected to Li Chonggao. He suspects she may be the key to capturing Li, but she reveals no secrets. When she refuses his friendship and eventual advance, his story ends there, while another man and his connection to Yu Ran begins. He too is looking for Li Chonggao. The surreal double roles and role reversals may recall Antonioni's classic 1960 film about isolation, L'Avventura. Similarly, Before Born has its backdrop in a coastal town and against lonely places and lonely spaces in this search for a lost person. Its provocative ending leaves us to ponder the past and the future of Yu Ran.