Peony has neither seen nor spoken to any man other than her father a wealthy Chinese nobleman. Nor has she ever ventured outside the cloistered women's quarters of the family villa. As her sixteenth birthday approaches she finds herself betrothed to a man she does not know but Peony has dreams of her own. Her father engages a theatrical troupe to perform scenes from The Peony Pavilion" a Chinese epic opera in their garden amidst the scent of ginger green tea & jasmine. ' Unmarried girls should not be seen in public ' says Peony's mother but her father allows the women to watch from behind a screen. Here Peony catches sight of an elegant handsome man & is immediately bewitched. So begins her unforgettable journey of love desire sorrow & redemption."