Asian Drama

Taipei. A voice off-camera looks back ten years to 2000, when Vicky was in an on-again off-again relationship with Hao-Hao. She's young, lovely, and aimless. He's a slacker. Cigarettes and alcohol fuel her nights. We see bits of her life: when Hao-Hao steals his father's Rolex and the police detain them; when she gets a job as a club hostess, where she meets Jack, who becomes her patron and protector; when Hao-Hao comes to the club, insisting on talking to her; when she visits Yubari, Japan, for its film festival in the dead of winter; when Jack must go to Japan to straighten out trouble caused by one of his acolytes. Does Vicky have any expectations? Does time simply pass?

Four men pursue courtesans during the late 1880s in Shanghai. The courtesans, Crimson, Pearl, Emerald, Jasmin and Jade, reside in elegant brothels called "Flower Houses". One suiter, Wang leaves Crimson to pursue the younger Jasmin.