Fall 1913, St. Catharines, Ontario: Thirteen-year-old Hoi Wing, the son of a scholar, is forced to give up his dreams of an education when he is sent to work in a Chinese laundry in Canada. He is immediately thrust into relentless, mind-numbing toil, washing clothes by hand for sixteen hours a day, six days a week. Without knowledge of English or western societal customs, he faces a daily onslaught of insults, taunts and physical violence from gangs...