In 1949, the Chinese Exclusion Act is overturned, allowing Chinese women to enter America. A New York City gambling club owner, Wah Gay, receives a letter from his wife in China, demanding he talk to his friend about arranging a match between their son and his daughter. Wah makes the arrangements and sends his son, Ben Loy, a thoroughly Americanized U. S. Army veteran, to China to meet his bride, Mei Oi. On arrival, Ben meets Mei Oi’s matchmaker, who attends his homecoming to make sure he did not lose any limbs in the war. Ben proves his worth by showing off his legs. That night, Ben presents his mother with a waffle iron from his father. She opens a cupboard to show several unused appliances, and asks Ben to tell Wah to send electricity next time. She states if Wah cared for her, he would come back to see her after twenty years of absence. The next day, a nervous Ben Loy meets his future bride, Mei Oi, who greets him by crossing her eyes. When Mei Oi displays her fluency in English, Ben is instantly smitten. An astrologer declares that the two youths’ horoscopes match perfectly, and they participate in an elaborate wedding ceremony before consummating their marriage. Ben takes his bride back to America, where Mei Oi discovers she is one of only a handful of women in New York City’s Chinatown. Ben’s elevated status as a “husband” gets him a job as a manager at a restaurant, but his new responsibilities take him away from his wife. The stress of his work, along with the demands of his community to sire a baby, cause Ben to become impotent. A doctor prescribes a vacation for Ben and Mei Oi, so they travel to Washington, D.C., where Ben is able to perform his marital duty. However, back in New York, Ben’s former girl friend arrives, unaware he is married, Her presence upsets Mei Oi, which negatively affects Ben’s sexual prowess. Fearing Ben is not attracted to her, Mei Oi alters her hair, makeup, and clothes to look more American. She arrives at Ben’s restaurant with two tickets to Washington, but he insists he must work and orders her to remove her makeup. Mei Oi leaves crying, and runs into Ah Song, Ben’s young Uncle, who offers her a handkerchief. Days later, a sexually frustrated Mei Oi accepts Ah Song’s repeated advances, and they become lovers. Over the next few weeks, Mei Oi signals her desire to meet with Ah by placing a fish bowl on the fire escape. One day, she telephones Ben while he is attending a funeral and announces she is pregnant. Ben is suspicious until he checks the date of when they made love in Washington, D. C., and decides the child is his. Ah Song refuses to call off the affair, and when he appears at Me Oi’s door, a neighbor sees them kissing. Within days, everyone in Chinatown except Ben knows of Mei Oi’s infidelity, until his father, Wah, tries to strangle him for causing family humiliation. Ben’s boss fires him, and the only job he can find is making fortune cookies at a factory in New Jersey. The young couple’s relationship deteriorate further, and they separate. A week later, Ah returns from a trip to Florida, learns of Mei Oi’s separation, and heads to her apartment, unaware she no longer lives there. He is followed by Wah, who climbs the building’s fire escape and breaks inside through a window. Without waking the new occupants, he grabs a meat cleaver and unlocks the door. When Ah enters, Wah cuts off his ear and chases him outside. Ben Loy is arrested for attempted murder. Released on bail, he declares his love to Mei Oi and suggests they start over in San Francisco, California, where no one knows their story. When he voices his concern about satisfying her, Mei Oi produces a packet of “special” tea from China, guaranteed to handle Ben’s “problem.” A year later, Wah celebrates his grandson’s first birthday in San Francisco.