The life of Chinese writer Xiao Hong, from her childhood in the Heilongjiang Province to her final days in Hong Kong's Repulse Bay. The love of the author's life, newspaper editor Xiao Jun and the inspiration she drew from him as well as the surrounding literary scene in creating some of China's most enduring masterpieces is explored against the backdrop of a turbulent time that included the formation of the Chinese Communist government and World War II.

An arthritic Nova Scotia woman works as a housekeeper while she hones her skills as an artist and eventually becomes a beloved figure in the community.