Eleanor calls her husband Philip in Australia to tell him that their son is bringing home a girl whose family is from mainland China. She hired an investigator to find out more about Rachel’s background and has just gotten back the report: Rachel’s mother is from a small village in Northern China, and she comes from nothing. Philip is not interested and doesn’t share his wife’s concern over Rachel’s family history.

That week at Bible study, Eleanor’s social circle convinces her that Rachel being ABC, or American Born Chinese, is terrible and that Nick is making a mistake and needs to be stopped. They decide to take a girl’s trip to Shenzhen to pay a man to find out more about Rachel’s family.

Rachel and Nick land in Singapore and are greeted at the airport by Colin and his fiancée Araminta Lee. Colin and Araminta take them straight from the airport to find food in the city. The men argue about which place serves the best satay, and Araminta jokes with Rachel that arguing about food is Singaporean culture. Finally, the friends all stop at Lau Pa Sat, a market where they can try food from various food stalls.