One summer day in Beijing, a female college student named Dudu is suddenly overcome by an inexplicable restlessness during a photo shoot. At a blind date arranged by her elders, she feels that the good upbringing instilled in her over more than a decade has come to suppress the passions within. She flees the crowd, only to find herself trapped in isolation. All that confronts her is the sound of a bicycle chain grinding against its chain guard. Amid the daily routines of washing her hands and face, life quietly slips away through her fingers.