Nearly 70-year-old Mrs huang lives to take care of her paralyzed second son a-yi. when she is diagnosed with stomach cancer, she wants to find a place for a-yi, but her eldest son’s greed plunges him into debt and her daughter’s timidity and submissiveness keep her trapped in an abusive relationship. mrs. huang tries her best to find a way for a-yi to live on, all the while helping her two other children make it through their hardships. she uses her frail frame to shield her three children from the world, while she herself is teetering on the edge of burning out.