The heroine, Lili, is a young single mother who gave birth to her son, Little Taozi, after an unexpected pregnancy eight years ago. They live in a compound on the outskirts of Beijing, and Little Taozi rarely even goes to school. One day, Xiao-mei, a deceased friend who re-established contact by chance, comes to visit the family, and in the course of a day and a night of getting to know and spend time with them, Lili reveals the child's life and her own emotional life. In the days that follow, t...