San Francisco, 1980. 72-year-old Guo Xue Hu runs into Xing Xiong, the son of his old friend Yi An, who comes to deliver a letter his now-deceased father had left addressed for Xue Hu. While speaking to Xue Hu, Xing Xiong discovers he knew very little about his father.
Xue Hu reminisces about when he met Yi An in Dadaocheng in the 1920s and through his words, Xing Xiong gets to learn about his father, about Yi An and Ru Yue's tortuous love, and the turbulent times of Japanese-occupied Taiwan.
1924年,台灣已被日本統治了將近30年。大稻埕的永樂座才剛落成,宜蘭線鐵路年底就要通車,台北大橋也快蓋好。淡水河上,戎克船南來北往,殷賑南街,人潮絡繹不絕,是台灣面對世界的門戶,也是民主文化發芽的土壤。
新建的江記茶行,氣派優雅,滿溢茶香,女人低頭揀茶枝,男人肩上扛茶箱。生意人喝茶論經濟,文化人飲酒說理想。老闆江民忠眼光獨具,生意通四海,三名妻妾攜手同心,打理內外;唯有獨子逸安,心不在茶行……