《北方一片苍茫》讲述了一个死了三任丈夫的农村寡妇，被村民疏远，流言蜚语在村里谣传。一次阴差阳错，众人以为她可以看病驱邪，诚心相助的她，治得了病，却拯救不了贪婪和冷漠的人心。After losing her house and husband, a rural woman leads a stranded life with her 10-year-old brother-in-law in a modified "recreational vehicle". To find a warm place to survive the cold winter, she pretends to be a shaman who can rid villagers of evil spirits, and ironically, her juggled deceits often become real. However, she soon loses her power to people's greed and apathy, and in meagre attempts of salvation, her life story eventually ends in tragedy and disillusion.