Joan Chen delivers an astonishing performance in this epic melodrama based on the director's own childhood. In the mid-sixties, glamorous Chinese nightclub singer Rose marries an Australian seaman and swiftly moves with her two children to a new life in Victoria. From the perspective of her young son, we see the family quickly moved on to Sydney, where Rose is welcomed into the small Chinese community. Chen is captivating as the beautiful but deeply flawed Rose, who follows her heart more than her head, but never truly knows what she wants. Cultures clash as the new Chinese community and rigid white working class of Australia are forced together in an era of change. Not just a personal story, this is a snapshot of Australia at the time.