Nag Hong Fah murders an old Spanish woman around the corner in her storefront one night. She knows he is going to kill her from the moment he enters and he slashes her throat with a knife. Afterwards, he joins his family in conversation at the nearby liquor store, giving him a good alibi. Today, he’s a good customer to her nephew who took over the business, but he regrets nothing because he views the killing as an act of virtue.  Nag Hong Fah used to be happier — he remembers when his wife, Fanny Mei Hi, laughs when she sees him holding a shimmering bauble. When they get married, their neighbors report them to the police because they are Chinese, but the police finds nothing to charge them with. Fanny Mei Hi has golden hair and blue eyes, and she denies the fact that she's mostly Chinese. Many disapprove of their marriage, but he says if it doesn't work out he will take Fanny Mei Hi's children with him back to his barren ex-wife in California. She agrees to these terms and they marry. When they get pregnant, Nag Hong Fah bargains with the wholesale grocer, Yung Long, his ex-wife's brother, and they do business together. At the christening, Nag Hong Fah sends out fancy invitations and gives his wife expensive jewelry and furs. They are happy with their son, but when their next child is revealed to be a girl there is a strain in their relationship. They love the baby, but there is no christening or presents this time. Nag Hong Fah tells his wife that women are only fit to bear children and she tells her husband that her daughter will be educated and have a life outside of the home, but he stubbornly refuses.  Yung Long overhears their argument and admires Fanny Mei Hi's beauty. Nah Hong Fah beats her for a week until she stops arguing and then asks for another son. She begins to drink heavily and one night in the winter she comes down with pneumonia. When the doctor says she will die, Nah Hong Fah writes to his ex-wife and tells her to prepare to remarry. On Fanny Mei Hi's deathbed, Nah Hong Fah tells her that her daughter will get a good education and sells her belongings. She laughs when he tells her that her favorite bracelet is only worth $21 — she says it’s worth $3,000 and that Yung Long gave it to her. After her death, Nag Hong Fah invites Yung Long over and they smoke opium. Yung Long suggests he marry his sister again, and Nag Hong Fah says she will make a good wife and mother to his children. Nag tells Yung Long he was angry at him for gifting Nag's wife the bracelet but then realized it was actually a gift for Nag. Yung Long says he met Fanny Mei Hi in the back room of Senora Garcia’s store and that the shopkeeper may have known that they were having an affair. Nag Hong Fah thanks the man and returns to his house to get his knife to kill Senora Garcia and uphold his honor and his wife's memory.