The scene is Singapore in the 1930s. The rather insipid young son of a Singapore Baba family has taken a fancy to his neighbour’s daughter, and he wants to marry her. While his father (like many fathers at that time who had been influenced by ‘modern’ English education) is not too concerned with lineage, his mother holds a different view.
Differences of opinion arise at a family discussion. Ba Besar, the son, is at first happy when his father overrules his mother's objections, but is then disappointed when a comparison of his horoscope with that of his neighbour's daughter proves unfavourable.
Ong Hoe Kiah, Ba Besar’s father, is still at heart a Baba, and he accepts his own mother's declaration that the proposed marriage is taboo. Then a friend of the family offers to help match Ba Besar with her own niece. So all ends well.