故事发生在很久以前，四川峨眉山千年蛇精白蛇、青蛇厌倦枯燥修行，化作妩媚少女白素贞（李炳淑 饰）、小青（方小亚 饰），游抵杭州西湖。乍观红男绿女，尽赏人间美景，两人流连忘返。书生许仙（陆伯平 饰）扫墓迟归，白素贞窥其风流倜傥、一表人才，顿生爱意。遂行风唤雨，以借伞为名，约许仙隔日相见。小青有意成全姐姐美意，待双方互倾衷肠后，她牵线为媒，即刻完婚。夫妻二人在镇江保和堂坐诊行医，悬壶济世，苍生得益。恶僧法海（苏盛义 饰）容不得人妖共眠，他几次离间许仙，怎奈许仙对白素贞一片痴情不移。是年端午，白素贞误饮雄黄酒......
Based on the novel by L. P. Hartley, The Hireling is a dissection of antiquated but hardly dormant British class distinctions. Chauffeur Robert Shaw is in the employ of aristocratic widow Sarah Miles. When she suffers a nervous breakdown, Shaw helps her through her recovery. They grow to love each other during the convalescence; but when she is cured, Ms. Miles refuses to regard Shaw as an equal, and the original status quo is reinstated. The Hireling provides an interesting contrast to the similarly structured American film of 1991, Driving Miss Daisy.
