In China of the late 1970s, a young girl learns to navigate the world of adulthood, sexuality, and gender through her interactions with a woman described by others as the “old maid”. Through a series of events, she comes to understand this woman and the experiences of what it means to be a woman and the challenges that come with being stigmatized because of mental illness. Moreover, her experience with this so-called “mad woman” in turn shapes how she views herself and the adults around her who come to symbolize the shadow of madness left by the Cultural Revolution.