A young hopeful girl named Ye Xian travels alone to New York City to try to make some money for her ailing father back home in China. She falls into the clutches of Mrs. Su , who runs a massage parlor in the heart of Chinatown. But Ye Xian refuses to do the requisite sex work for the clients, so she is made into a menial servant who must do all the laundry, cleaning, shopping and cooking--a Cinderella. However, she finds solace in a magical fish given to her by the strange hunchback, Auntie Yaga, and in her fleeting, tender encounters with Johnny, a local jazz musician.