Fin Fan had been born into slavery, and her mistress sold her at a young age to Chung Kee, who made her his wife. Fin Fan spends all day in a dark room behind Chung Kee’s factory winding tobacco leaves. Her only joy in life is her baby daughter, Jessamine Flower. Chung Kee resents the baby because he thinks it slows down Fin Fan in her work. Fin Fan tries hard to keep up so that Chung Kee does not make good on his threat to give her child away to another woman.

One day a Mission lady sees Jessamine Flower and tells Fin Fan that she should enter her beautiful baby in a “Chinese baby show” (123) at the Presbyterian Mission. Fin Fan cannot wait for the pageant. She thinks that if Jessamine Flower wins a prize, then Chung Kee will value the baby more and be less likely to take her away from Fin Fan.

On Christmas Eve day, Fin Fan sneaks away from the dark little room in order to enter her child into the pageant, leaving behind a large bundle of tobacco leaves that need to be wound. Jessamine Flower does get a prize, and Fin Fan heads home with the baby “delighted and excited” (124).