Paul is a surgeon from Carmel, IN who has an unlikely assignment handed to him by President Nixon. The year is 1970 and US - Chinese relations are tenuous at best. Paul is sent to China with the mission of making friends and mending the broken bonds. On his way to Beijing, Paul's plane is shot down over North Vietnam. He's captured and taken to a Viet Cong camp deep in the jungle, where he'd certainly be killed but for his surgical skills. He finally makes it to Beijing where he's introduced to a beautiful and wonderfully different culture. His liaison is a lovely Chinese woman, Shau Ai. She teaches Paul the richness of the Chinese culture and language. Many of these lessons revolve around chatting over tea. As their relationship deepens, painful memories boil to the surface for both Paul and Shau Ai. Neither seem willing to let go of the wounds of the past in favor of a future together. They do stumble upon an unlikely way to form a union between their two countries, but can they maintain their own relationship once Paul's mission is complete?