In colonial-era Vietnam, Jean-Baptiste (Vincent Perez), a dashing French naval captain; Eliane (Catherine Deneuve), a wealthy plantation owner of French parentage; and her adopted Vietnamese daughter, Camille (Linh Dan Pham), are the three points of a cross-cultural romantic triangle. As the struggle against European imperialism sweeps Indochina, Jean-Baptiste and Camille have to choose sides and Eliane faces the emotionally difficult challenge of raising the child of her daughter and ex-lover.