 In San Francisco, an immigrant Chinese widow welcomes the new year with some unhappiness: she s 62 now, she wants to make a trip to China to pay last respects to her ancestors, a fortune teller has told her this is the year she ll die, and a daughter, Geraldine, remains unmarried. Geraldine does have a boyfriend, but she s not sure she s ready for marriage, and, anyway, he lives in Los Angeles and Geraldine doesn t want to leave her mother alone in her declining years. Mrs. Tan s cheerful brother-in-law tries to help out. Is there any solution that will enable Mrs. Tan to hold onto her culturally-influenced and deep-seated hopes, yet keep those hopes from suffocating Geraldine?