A Japanese businessman reflects on his experience with Chinese people and longs to visit China.

Torn between her perfectly nice husband and her own career, a young woman must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice for the life she wants.

When a librarian finds a moving book of poetry among a donation, she is introduced to fellow lovers of the author's work who strive to preserve the poet's desire for privacy while commemorating her work.

When a young aspiring writer takes residence with a Jewish couple, he is pressured into maintaining a façade about his potential for publishing.

A rejected author ponders his writing abilities and lonely existence as he experiences his monotonous daily life. After one of his stories is rejected yet again, he receives a mysterious letter regarding the unpublished story that offers new hope.

An older Jewish man living in America becomes increasingly jealous of a fellow writer as his Yiddish poetry is continuously rejected by publishers, while his colleague's short stories are translated into English and earn him fame and success.