The storyline is very simple. A violent criminal is sentenced to death in late autumn, and the sentence is carried out the following autumn. At first, the convict displays the temperament of a raging bull, and he yearns to escape. Later, however, his unassuming fiancee, played by Tang Pao-yun, marries him in prison, and the influence of her personality completely changes his outlook.
民國六十一年的《秋決》則一直是李行最愛的戲，故事簡單，但凝重感人，述說一個原先要越獄的江洋大盜，秋末冬初判刑後，到第二年秋季處決。