Dry and dusty Shanxi, in the north of China. An itinerant theatre troupe has arrived, its gear loaded onto a coal truck. A man is dead. A Shanxi Opera singer is in custody, and has a tale or two for the local police. Who will make who sing? Inspector Haifeng has an ear for operas, tales, and villains. The Coal-Truck Opera is a story of 70 Chinese characters.