When a beloved Midwestern Chinese restaurant announces its closure right before Christmas, their clientele re-examines their relationships in a series of interconnected stories amid the chaos of its busiest week of the year.
Bright Alex grows up in Michigan proud of his mother, Romanian immigrant Ileana, who became a professor, vowing to make her dream come true by graduating from Harvard. But when mother becomes manic-depressive and repeatedly dumps her medication, Alex each time lands in foster care. At age 16, he gets legal emancipation and vows to take charge of their lives himself.