The movie, which was directed by internationally acclaimed director Stanley Kwan, tells a romantic and tragic love story of two men. The story is set in Beijing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and makes vivid reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre. The film can be counted as a mainland-made movie as most of the crew are from mainland China. In the movie, Lan Yu (Liu Ye), an architecture student in desperate need of money, finds himself in the bed of successful businessman Chen Handong (Hu Jun). While Lan Yu falls in love, Chen tries his best to avoid emotional attachment, showering Lan Yu with expensive gifts and even getting married. However, as the years go by, Chen soon realizes that he cannot live without Lan Yu.