Hsaio-kang (Lee Kang-sheng, the director's alter ego) sells watches on the streets of Taipei. A few days after his father's death, he is approached by a girl in her late 20s, Shiang-chyi (Chen Shiang-chyi), who is heading off to Paris and wants a watch that keeps track of the time in both zones.Meanwhile, Hsiao-kang's disconsolate mother becomes obsessed with the idea that her husband may be reincarnated, perhaps as a cockroach, perhaps as a fish named Fatty. Hsiao-kang longs for Shiang-chyi, and begins to change the clocks in Taipei to Paris time; as a tourist abroad who doesn't speak the language, Shiang-chyi also experiences severe dislocation.