Helen, an American-born Chinese nanny working in a Chinese household, finds a collection of old Chinese workbooks tracking Helen’s failure to learn Mandarin in her late mother’s things. She becomes consumed by the idea that her mother was resentful of her and begins to lose sight of the person her mother truly was to a cruel nightmare version of her. At the same time, her position within the household grows more tenuous, putting the relationship she has with her young ward, Xiao Shao, at risk.