When war threatens the comfortable life of Joan and Emma Lew, the daughters of a Hong Kong businessman, they escape with their family to spend the early 1940s in Macao. When they return home, Joan, the beautiful elder sister, hopes for a traditional marriage and children, until her passion for movies and romance gives her the promise of a different life. Emma, inspired by the independence of her aunt Go, considers college in San Francisco and the challenge of life in America.

As the girls become women, each follows a path different from what her family expects. But through times of great happiness and sorrow, the sisters learn that their complicated ties to each other - and to the other members of their close-knit family - are a source of strength as they pursue their separate dreams.