A new era has begun in Vietnam; western influences are growing and the atmosphere of old Saigon is slowly being swallowed up. Four strangers in Saigon find themselves suddenly expatriates in their own beautiful country. Young Kien An is hired to pick white lotuses for a reclusive master, Teacher Dao, who has disfigured himself and is too ashamed to leave his dark temple. While working, her singing attracts the master′s heart and moves him to write again as she in turn falls in love with his words. Hai, a cyclo driver falls for a proud prostitute, Lan. After he saves her from an situation, he becomes her chauffeur and tries to win her favor. Meanwhile a young boy, unsavory Woody, walks around peddling small goods. In a bar, he meets G.I. James Hager who is searching for his daughter. Woody ends up losing his suitcase filled with goods and immediately sets out to find it. These stories merge to paint a portrait of a country in transition, the last moments of a culture which through a second invasion by its former enemy, will never be the same again.