 Sam Wong, the owner of a Chinese restaurant in London s Chinatown, dies in a phone booth. As a favor to her uncle, a young law student, Elaine Choy, agrees to probate Sam s will, but finds that the task is less than trivial. Sam s wife, daughter, son-in-law, cook, and two sons disagree on who should have which parts of the business. And two other beneficiaries remain frustratingly elusive. But in the search, Elaine and Sam s younger son, Mike, a restaurant owner himself, realize that they re not only exploring Sam Wong s life, but also their own cultural identities as both English and Chinese.