The Empire of the Sun is based during World War II (1945) in China. The main characters are Jamie, Jamie's Father and Mother, and Baisie. Jamie at the beginning of the movie is probably ten or eleven years old. Jamie and his family are living in China at the time. While living in China, the war breaks out and Japan captures China. There was a mad rush of citizens out of China try to escape and this was where Jamie and hit parents were separated. Jamie returned home waiting for his parent's return. After a while Jamie exhausted his food supply and he decided to try to get caught by the Japanese. While in town Jamie and Baisie met. Baisie renames Jamie Jim, an "American" name. Soon after that Jim and Baisie are taken as prisoners of war.
Jim and Baisie end up in a prisoner camp where the prisoners are made slaves and must help to construct a runway for a new airport. Baisie becomes the self-proclaimed leader of the men's barraks and gives Jim a task that he must complete in order to stay with him in the men's barraks. Jim must leave the camp and place pheasant traps outside of the camp. While doing so, Jim is nearly caught and executed, but because he wasn't caught, he earned the respect of all of the men's barraks. .
Later, in an attack from the Americans, the camp is almost completely destroyed. Before this, Baisie and a friend escape from camp without Jim. After this, the Japanese must move the prisoners to another camp. On the way however, the war ends when the Americans drop and Atomic bomb. The prisoners are set free and supplies and rations begin to be air dropped by the Americans. Baisie and Jim meet again and Jim turns down Baisie's offer for help. Jim returns to the old prisoner camp he was at before, this time alone. Supplies land in the camp and Jim lives alone for a while. Eventually American soldiers arrive and Jamie is take back to America where he is reunited with his parents.
