Jin-Lian marries her beloved, Simon, but learns he is liaising with another woman, Ping-Er. In a no-holds-barred attempt to win his devotion, the two women embark on a physical and emotional sparring match that only one of them can win.

A corrupt local official, Qing, who lusts after women and money, pursues his brother's young wife, Ping. She finds him attractive, and under her drunken husband's nose,they work their way through the illustrations of a pillow book, the "Golden Lotus." He pursues the same feat with his fourth concubine, Jing, who lives in the compound next to Ping. Jing's jealousy compounds a tale of humiliation, childbirth, death, and depravity. Does karma or enlightenment await anyone?