 Liyan and Yuwen live in post-war torpor, childless but with Liyan s school-aged sister. He coughs, imagining he has TB; Yuwan embroiders; they sleep in separate rooms. A surprise visit from Liyan s boyhood friend Zhang, a big city physician, wakes up the household. To Zhang s amazement, he discovers his friend s wife is his own youthful sweetheart. Possibilities abound: an affair, an arranged marriage of Zhang and Little Sister, now 16, or simply ending ennui and embracing vitality. Can a stifling atmosphere of Chinese Chekhov give way to spring? Alcohol at a birthday party speeds resolution.