Set against a high-society Shanghai wedding, a heartfelt, funny, dazzling debut about a relucant bride and her two best friends, each with their own motives and fed up with the way society treats women, who launch a heist to steal all the gift money on the big day.
Lulu has always been taught that money is the ticket to a good life. So, when Shanghai's most eligible bachelor surprises her with a proposal, the only acceptable answer is yes, even if the voice inside her head is saying no. His family's fortune would solve all her parents' financial woes, but Lulu isn't in love or ready for marriage.
The only people she can confide in are her two best friends: career-minded Rina, who is tired of being passed over for promotion as her biological clock ticks away; and Jane, a sharp-tongued, luxury-chasing housewife desperate to divorce her husband and trade up. Each of them desires something different: freedom, time, beauty. None of them can get it without money.
It's not long before they realize that Lulu's wedding is their golden opportunity. With Shanghai's elite clamoring to attend, it stands to be the social event of the season, which means more than enough cash gifts to transform the women's lives. To steal the money on the big day, all they'll need is a trustworthy crew and a brilliant plan. But as the plot grows increasingly complicated and relationships are caught in the crossfire, the women are forced to face that having it all might come at a steep price...
Narrator Catherine Ho portrays three Shanghai friends who represent the struggles and limitations women face in contemporary Chinese society. Jane has always been told she's ugly and is stuck in a marriage to the one person who proposed to her, hardworking Rina is overlooked for promotions due to sexism and wants to freeze her eggs, and people-pleaser Lulu feels obligated to quit her job and marry
