The Flowery Years

1962, Hong Kong. On the exact same two days, Mr. and Mrs. Chow and Mr. and Mrs. Chan, who don't know each other, rent a room in adjacent flats from the resident owner, Mr. and Mrs. Koo and Mrs. Suen respectively, and move into their room. They join the friendly relationship that exists between their landlords and the other residents of the building, although the Chows and Chans' entry into the relationships are more cordial than friendly. With Mrs. Chow and Mr. Chan often out of town either on business or personal matters, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan lead a somewhat emotionally lonely existence. The cordiality and emotional isolation extend to Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan's working lives. Mr. Chan, a newspaper journalist who would rather be writing martial arts serials, has as his closest work colleague Ping, a gambler who often takes advantage of that friendship. And Mrs. Chan's job as a secretary to married Mr. Ho largely entails her handling his personal affairs, including managing and facilitating his affair with Miss Yu, something she cannot talk about to anyone. Eventually, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan individually come to the realization that their respective spouses are having an affair with each other, mostly taking place when they are out of town together. In dealing with this joint betrayal of their respective marriages, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan begin spending time together. Despite they not doing anything untoward with each other, they do not tell anyone of their time together in the inappropriateness of two married people of the opposite sex being alone with each other. As they try to figure out what to do about their respective marriages, the situation becomes more complicated when they admit that they are falling in love with each other, something that neither intended when they began their friendship.