A polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones, shifting between a Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert: It first recounts the plight of a mad young widow (Zhou Yun) and her only son (Jaycee Chan). As if possessed by a magic pair of brightly coloured shoes embroidered in the shape of fish, the woman disappears into the deep waters of the local river. the second episode takes place on a university campus at the dawn of the Cultural Revolution, where the relationship between teachers Liang (Anthony Wong) and Tang (Jiang Wen) and the voluptuous doctor Lin (Joan Chen) will turn tragic. When it does, Tang is driven into exile in the same village where the mad widow lives. His arrival brings the film to its third tale, which hinges on the magical texture of velvet. The last story journeys backward in time, travelling to the Gobi Desert in western China. Here the ties connecting the film’s protagonists finally become clear.