The story begins with exposition of the difficult lives of the first generation of male Chinese-American immigrants who were not allowed to bring their wives and families with them into the United States due to the
Chinese Exclusion Act. For decades, these immigrant men have not seen their families they had left back in China. Ben is the son of one these immigrants and has just finished serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Due to the
War Brides Act, Ben is allowed to bring a bride back from China, which he does after an
arranged marriage. Mei Oi, the bride, besides being attracted to Ben also wants to see her father who emigrated to the U.S. before she was born. As one of the early couples of child-bearing age within
New York's Chinatown, Ben and Mei Oi have to deal with the expectations of the entire Chinatown community as well as his father. However, the pressures on Ben render him impotent, and in her confusion over his seeming lack of interest, Mei Oi succumbs to the attentions of Ah Song. Their affair creates complications for their own marriage and for the reputations of their fathers in the close-knit "bachelor society" of Chinatown. ==Cast==