A single mother Shu-Fen Janel Tsai moves with her two daughters—five-year-old I-Jing Nina Ye and college-aged I-Ann Shi-Yuan Ma—to Taipei to open a bustling noodle stand in a crowded night market, while I-Ann hovers between work at a betel nut stand as a betel nut beauty and the pressures of supporting the family. The move marks a fresh start, but it soon collides with hard truths about money, health, and responsibility that bend the family under one roof.
When Shu-Fen discovers that her estranged husband—who left the family a decade earlier—is terminally ill, she borrows more to cover his medical bills and funeral costs. The mounting debts weigh on her, and the burden strains the already fragile trust between mother and daughter. I-Ann grows resentful as Shu-Fen sinks deeper into debt and struggles to keep the noodle stand afloat, while the rent reminders loom over their modest home. The family’s precarious balance is further complicated when Shu-Fen reconnects with her own aging parents, and I-Jing is reintroduced to her grandparents Wen-Xong Chen and Xue-Mei Wu, shaping a tapestry of generational expectations that widen the emotional gap between the siblings.
I-Jing, who is left-handed, becomes the center of a troubling superstition. Her grandfather tells her that the left hand is “the devil’s hand” and instructs her not to use it at home. Misunderstanding the superstition, I-Jing internalizes a belief that she cannot be blamed for misdeeds performed with her left hand, which fascinates and terrifies her. This misunderstanding nudges her toward mischief, and she begins to shoplift from other market stands, driven by a sense of guilt and confusion that she cannot fully articulate. The family’s financial struggles intensify the stakes, and I-Jing’s actions begin to ripple through the lives of everyone around them.
I-Ann’s life takes another dramatic turn when she is invited to a party at a motel with an old classmate. There, she reveals a complicated past: she was once a straight-A student and the most popular girl on campus, but she had to abandon high school for financial reasons. The party becomes a toxic space where crude advances are directed at her, and she leaves in distress. The night reveals more pain when I-Ann discovers she is in a sexual relationship with her boss, A-Ming, whose wife confronts her at work. I-Ann ultimately reveals that she is pregnant with A-Ming’s child and makes the decision to quit, shattering any pretenses of stability she had hoped to maintain.
In the midst of these personal upheavals, I-Jing’s play with a pet meerkat—an inheritance from Shu-Fen’s late husband—ends in tragedy when the animal tumbles from the balcony after a left-handed throw. The child is overwhelmed with guilt, blaming the so-called devil’s hand for the accident, a belief that shadows her sense of self and responsibility. Shu-Fen’s attempt to seek help leads her to Xue-Mei Wu’s home, but Xue-Mei refuses money, signaling the complicated, sometimes fraught loyalties within extended families. Yet I-Jing’s act of stealing passports from Xue-Mei’s hidden black-market operation becomes a catalyst for a tense reckoning. The shop owner contacts the family, and I-Ann, who has returned to care for her sister, collects I-Jing and learns of the depth of I-Jing’s belief in the “devil hand” and the extent of her shoplifting. In a moment of resolve and care, I-Ann helps I-Jing recognize that the superstition is false and that the meerkat’s death was an accident. She leads I-Jing to return the stolen items and atone for her actions. Xue-Mei’s gratitude arrives in the form of financial aid, as she gifts Shu-Fen the money needed to keep the noodle stand afloat, recognizing the child’s honest effort and the family’s resilience.
A family gathering marks a turning point: Xue-Mei’s sixtieth birthday banquet becomes a stage for old secrets and new confrontations. A-Ming, who has been trying to reach I-Ann, appears with his wife, and the gathering becomes a crucible where the truth surfaces. His wife publicly exposes I-Ann’s affair and pregnancy—even insinuating expectations that the baby be male. In response, I-Ann reveals that she had aborted the child, sparking a fierce argument with Shu-Fen. The confrontation strains the family, and the couple is asked to leave. I-Ann, overwhelmed, drinks heavily and drinks in the revelation that I-Jing is her own daughter, not Shu-Fen’s, a truth Shu-Fen had kept to protect her daughter’s future. The disclosure causes upheaval, yet the moment becomes a cathartic turning point for both Shu-Fen and I-Ann, shaking loose years of secrecy.
In the end, the family chooses to stay together. I-Ann decides to continue working at the noodle stand alongside Shu-Fen and I-Jing, choosing to remain part of the family rather than pursue other possibilities. The film closes on a note of reconciliation: the mother and daughter begin to build a new, stronger relationship, grounded in honesty, responsibility, and a shared commitment to a future they can face together.
- The story unfolds with intimate, character-driven scenes that explore motherhood, intergenerational tension, and the consequences of choices made under financial pressure, all set against Taipei’s vibrant night markets and a family’s stubborn love.
- The emotional heart of the film rests in the evolving bond between Shu-Fen, I-Jing, and I-Ann, whose shared experiences gradually redefine what family means and how trust can grow again after rupture.
