Chen Liang, a young Chinese man working illegally in Japan, buys an ID and cell phone on the black market. When he gets a call offering a job he accepts blindly. Chen, now known as Liu, ends up an apprentice in a rural soba shop. As he acclimates to his new life he forms a strong bond with his sagely mentor, while also developing a quiet romance with a local woman. However, the threat of deportation always lurks around the corner. Chikaura Kei’s moving and insightful debut offers a rare inside view of life as a marginalized immigrant in Japan.