In a coastal village near Taidong during the 1960’s, a single, middle-aged mother, Bao-chai, lives a quiet life with her daughter, Xi-lian, a 20-year old schoolteacher. After conservative Bao-chai finds out that Xi Lian has fallen for her cousin, she forbids them to see each other. As time passes, Xi-lian finds love again, this time with Chu-cheng, a new teacher at her school from mainland China. When Chu-Cheng is relocated, he writes love letters to Xi-lian. Unknown to Xi-lian, the letters are intercepted and read by Bao-chai, who, in reading them, has feelings awakened in her that has been buried for most of her life. Then, one day, Chu-cheng comes to visit, and something happens that will change these three quiet lives forever…
안과 의사 두 지아첸은 신문의 개인 광고란에 청혼 광고를 싣는다. 그 일로 인해 두는 솔직한 사람에서 소심한 사람, 또한 젊은이에서 노인에 이르기까지 직업과 연령, 성격이 다양한 여러 남자들을 만나게 된다. 또한 이런 만남 속에서 그녀는 신분을 감춘 채 남자들의 외로운 마음을 엿보고 있는 자신을 발견한다.
