Rose is introduced as a flighty, frivolous teenager. She loves nothing more than to have a string of men interested in her, playing them along, seeming to avoid any true, deep feelings for any of her swains. This includes the most enigmatic man in her life, her brother Charles. Since their wealthy parents' untimely death years before he seems to have lived for nothing else than Rose's happiness, and it becomes obvious that he has spoiled her. She skates through life and relationships without much thought beyond her own wants and desires.

Rose leaves a trail of broken hearts behind her--including that of Charles's married partner, she almost scuttles his marriage, but to her it is just a lark. Charles, who is not well, is confused and troubled by her behavior, but cannot seem to do much to make her behave responsibly and he seems to lack the heart to really do so.

Soon Rose falls hard for a young architect, Tony, regardless of the fact that he is engaged to another woman at the outset of her attraction to him. When Tony fails to drop the other woman for Rose her self absorbed world crumbles and she suffers a meltdown in Tony's apartment. Charles collects his sister and tries to bring her out of her depression. To escape her heartache, Rose decides to go to university in France.

Settled in Paris, Rose begins to grow up. No longer the belle of the ball being pursued by lovesick males, she enters a loveless relationship with a fellow student who sees her as a source for free home cooked Chinese meals and who generally takes her for granted. She longs to be ordinary, to marry and have children, and sees this fellow student, Simon as her avenue to her wishes.

Before she weds, Rose invites Charles to see her--he notices how deeply unhappy she is and wants her to come home to Hong Kong, but she wants to stay in Paris and marry her boyfriend, Simon. She seems almost to be doing penance for her former life in entering this commitment. She marries and has a child by Simon.

She receives a letter from her Charles which tells her of his ill health and bids her come home to take over the house they once shared when he dies.

Rose returns to Hong Kong an unspecified period of time after Charles' death. She is now divorced with a six year old daughter, and goes about redecorating the house that is now hers. Mourning now the brother who was somehow more than that, she turns the studio where Charles painted into a shrine to him.

The decorator she calls in is almost immediately smitten with her, while she is transfixed, as she stands on a street corner, by the vision of a man driving by, who looks just like her brother.

Fate intervenes, she eventually gets to meet him, his name is Ga-ming --he almost runs down her daughter in the street after the child has scampered back into it to get a dropped toy. They begin dating, eventually making love. Complications ensue when the decorator turns out to be Ga-ming's brother.

Complications are resolved and the film seems about to end on a happy note, when tragedy strikes on what should be Rose's happiest day.

Maggie Cheung is excellent, going from the young borderline nympho Rose to the older and painfully wiser Rose very believably.

Chow Yun Fat is excellent--even in a bad film one can expect him to turn in a sparkling performance--and while not great this is a good film and showcase for his versatility. The viewer readily believes that Charles and Ga-ming are two different characters. Where Charles, the brother is reserved, emotionally dampened down (except when it comes to lavishing love and attention on the wayward Rose, who does not appreciate him until after he is dead) Ga-ming is everything Charles was not--lively and loveable.

Not a classic film perhaps, but for those who enjoy exploring Chow Yun Fat in something other than bullet ballet, this heartrending romance will be sure to please.