In 1930's China, the all-male Peking opera was luxurious entertainment for the privileged class—but only children from the poorest families were sent to opera schools to train as actors. Abandoned by his mother—a prostitute who can no longer care for him—Xiao Douzi is brought to an opera school. With seeds of bitterness in his soul, the nine-year-old boy endures hardships and misery to learn and perfect his craft. Farewell to My Concubine focuses on the all-consuming love Xiao Douzi holds for the boy he befriends and the beautiful female courtesan who comes between them. Caught up in the events that devastate China, these three remarkable individuals are forced to act in order to protect the one they love.