How should we choose between love, desire, money, and the realities of life?
Lin Shan: “I don't care what society thinks. I live to please myself. Sex, material things, and the world of the mind: that's my ideal life.”
Su Yue: “I believe in love. There must be someone out there waiting for me. I can't live without love.”
Wu Mei: “Does he have money? I think money gives me more security than feelings. I have to make sure my foster father and I live well for the rest of our lives.”
Three girls who grew up in a small town all yearn for love because of the broken families they came from. But shaped by their different experiences, they each seek a sense of security through love, desire, or money. As they grow older, each believes she has found true love, married, and had children, yet the emptiness inside and their sense of insecurity remain...
As they make their way through life, the three women each stay true to their own pursuits, though those pursuits are very different.
Su Yue spends her whole life chasing love, convinced she must live within it. Wu Mei seeks security through money her entire life. And Lin Shan spends her life challenging convention and breaking taboos.
The story begins in the month Su Yue's mother falls gravely ill, Wu Mei gets divorced, and Lin Shan turns thirty-six, when the three reunite in Tuozhou. Their loves, hatreds, and heartaches as teenagers and adults are woven throughout.
At the end, the three face new choices that echo those they have faced before: should they follow their hearts, or keep holding on? Each must find her own answer.
