In Shanghai, an aging socialite's infatuation with her ex-boyfriend manifests itself as a risky game, where her former lover agrees to seduce, then abandon a naive young woman.

Adult Chinese-American siblings Alexander, Liz, Victoria and Meimei reluctantly converge on their hometown of Seattle after their mother, Linda Xiao, passes away from her bout with cancer, about which they didn't even know until after her passing. "Reluctant" as they all disliked their mother - who they called the "Dragon Lady" as she showed them little love while she was alive and who pitted each against the others as they grew up - and have been estranged from each other because of it. Despite each having successful professional lives - Alexander being a cosmetic surgeon, Liz a magazine columnist, Victoria a real estate agent, and Meimei an actress in Chinese ninja movies - each sibling carries personal baggage, much associated with their mother's ways. Married Alexander, much like his now deceased father before him, has a mistress on the side, about which his ex-beauty pageant queen wife Cindy knows...

Through a series of flashbacks, four young chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past. This search will help them understand their difficult mother/daughter relationship.