After becoming a radio DJ in college and a TV interviewer at twenty-three, Chai Jing is thrust into the spotlight when she takes on a position as a news anchor at CCTV, China's official state news channel. Chai struggles to find her role in a male-dominated news organization, while discovering corruption, courage, and hope within the people she meets.

In 1940s Hong Kong, the poorest families had no choice but to abandon their children. Bo Wah Chuen, a mysterious blue-eyed Asian boy, is ostracized and shunned. As he works his way up from lowly laborer to an esteemed engineer for the British colonies, a shy but beautiful wife by his side, and another woman's attention growing that could feed both his heart and his career, Bo remains haunted.