Aspiring Chinese-American writer Billi maintains a close relationship with her grandmother Nai Nai who lives in Changchun, China. After receiving a rejection letter for a Guggenheim Fellowship, Billi discovers from her parents that Nai Nai has been diagnosed with cancer, and may only have a few months left to live.
Through deception and manipulation of test results, the diagnosis is kept a secret from Nai Nai herself. Billi clashes with the family, and the doctor, over their deliberate dishonesty towards her grandmother, as a wedding for Billi’s cousin from Japan is planned in China as an excuse to unite the family to spend what is expected to be one last time with Nai Nai.