A recommendation from her mentor brings Zhao Man into the world of Chen Changzhi, a capitalist at the very top of his field. An old embroidered pouch from her hometown catches his eye, and with it, his wish to possess her. Presenting himself as a guide, he lays out a life she can hardly refuse: a top job, a luxury apartment, and graduate study at Harvard. Zhao Man tries to adjust, grateful and faintly uneasy, unaware of how carefully the path has been laid for her.