When Peony wants to run away from an arranged marriage in China, she signs a contract to be a "flower girl" in the United States, where she meets Tom, an American-born Chinese chef whose father works on the Transcontinental Railroad. They fall in love. They were stopped by a Hong Kong Triad boss who wanted to expand his power into the United States. Their story is about the first great Chinese migration to the United States, which was full of romance, bigotry, passion, food, and a search for everlasting love.