The film follows Mr. Shi (Henry O), a retired widower from Beijing. When Yilan (Yu Feihong), his only daughter who lives in Spokane, Washington, and works as a librarian has a divorce, he decides to visit her to help her heal. However Yilan is not interested, keeps her distance, finally avoiding her father. It is revealed that she is getting ready to marry once again, with a Russian man (Pasha Lychnikoff). As Mr. Shi explores the small town, he meets an old woman, Madam (Vida Ghahremani), who had fled Iran after the revolution to the United States. Neither Mr. Shi nor Madam speak English well, but by gesturing and talking in their own tongues, they start a friendship which ends when Madam is sent to a retirement home. Eventually, Mr. Shi and Yilan come to terms as father-daughter.