The novel is set in the Chinatown neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada in the 1930s and 1940s, leading up to and including World War II. The plot revolves around the Chen family, which consists of Father, Stepmother (his second wife), Grandmother (Father's mother), and four children. The children are Kiam-Kiam, the biological son of Father and his first wife; Jook-Liang (sometimes called Liang-Liang), who is the biological daughter of Father and Stepmother; Jung-Sum, who is adopted by the family; and Sek-Lung ("Sekky"), who is the biological son of Father and Stepmother. Each of the three sections is narrated by one of the three younger children; Kiam-Kiam, the eldest son, does not provide a narrative.
In the first section, narrated by Jook-Liang, she struggles with the tension between Canadian and more traditional Chinese culture, as well as her family's tendencies to prioritize and privilege her brothers. Jook-Liang is close with Grandmother, but also feels stifled by her. Jook-Liang is interested in performing and becoming famous. She forms a friendship with an elderly man named Wong Suk, since he is the only one who seems to take her seriously. From this friendship, she comes to feel a deeper connection to her Chinese heritage. At the end of Jook-Liang's narrative, Wong Suk returns to China to help repatriate the bones of men who died while in Canada, but wanted to be returned to China.
In the second section, narrated by Jung-Sum, he reflects on his experience of being adopted by the Chen family. When he is first adopted, Jung-Sum is very wary and feels a strong need to earn approval. He gradually becomes more secure in his bond with his new family. Jung-Sum later becomes interested in boxing, and begins to learn about the sport from a young man named Frank Yuen. Through these interactions with Frank, Jung-Sum experiences a sexual awakening and becomes aware that he might be attracted to boys. Jung-Sum is very sad when Frank leaves to Vancouver to move to San Francisco and enlist in the U.S. Marines.
The third section, narrated by Sek-Lung, focuses on the life of the youngest sibling. Sek-Lung is quite frail and sickly, so he spends a lot of time with Grandmother, and enjoys a happy childhood being nurtured by her. When Grandmother dies, Sek-Lung feels quite lost and overwhelmed. Sek-Lung finds greater stability and independence once he begins going to school. Although, as a young child, he doesn't fully understand the context, he becomes fixated on the games and fighting that reflect the outbreak of World War II. The start of the war comes with strong anti-Japanese sentiment, and Sek-Lung is puzzled when his babysitter, Meiying, begins to have a secret relationship with a Japanese boy. At the end of Sek-Lung's narrative, Meiying dies after attempting to perform an abortion herself.
