The beginning of the story deals with Lily, an unpaid intern (she is Chinese American) and Matt, a rich businessman, meeting at a party and starting a relationship.  The 2nd third is the story of Lily's son Nick and his struggles through school. The final third is the story of Lily's parents in China during Mao's time and eventually coming to the US.  The story gets very convoluted and the plot has alot of holes for me - especially when there is an interconnection between many characters that I find improbable.  Halfway through I was going to DNF but decided to power through.