Logline: A female bank employee, feeling a loss of control over her life during Shanghai’s lockdown, journeys to Wall Street in New York, hoping to shed the role of a mere executor and become a driving force behind major deals. But within this towering pyramid of power, she gradually realizes she is nothing more than a tiny, insignificant pawn.
Genre: Coming-of-age, Drama
Synopsis: Mengzhi is a bright intern at a major bank in Shanghai, with a boyfriend, Ke, who loves her dearly. During the government-imposed lockdown, Mengzhi is forced to stay in her apartment. As she clashes with a government health worker and struggles to prepare for the civil service exam, she comes to realize that Ke is a timid person who craves stability—and he fails to support her during this difficult time. Disappointed, she decides to end the relationship. Unable to tolerate the lockdown any longer, Mengzhi decides to pursue a master’s degree in finance and economics in the US., hoping to build a future for herself on Wall Street in New York.
At her American university, she shares an apartment with Sirui, a classmate with whom she initially struggles to get along. However, after attending a pro-Gaza protest together, Sirui begins to see Mengzhi’s empathetic side and invites her to join the a business club that student have opportunities to present to big investment banks. Later, during one such presentation to Blackstone—a major investment bank—Mengzhi impresses a vice president, Judy, with her insight.
Through persistent effort and determination, she eventually lands an off-cycle internship at Blackstone. Early in the internship, she reports Benjamin, a fellow intern in her group, for repeatedly failing to contribute to their work, leading to his removal from the team. However, Benjamin’s well-connected background enables him to land a full-time offer in Blackstone’s media group.
While working on a high-stakes acquisition case, Mengzhi turns to Sirui for help with due diligence. Unbeknownst to her, Sirui is an immediate family member of the CEO of the target company. Benjamin reports this to HR, and Mengzhi is suspended for breaching confidentiality. Shocked and hurt by Sirui’s concealment of her identity, Mengzhi enters a cold war with her. Her manager, Tyler, then offers Mengzhi a deal: if she can obtain insider information from Sirui about a potential decline in the company’s future sales—information that could justify lowering the acquisition price—he will offer her a full-time position. After careful consideration, Mengzhi refuses to compromise her integrity. As a consequence, she is fired. However, instead of giving up, Mengzhi takes the initiative to connect Judy, the VP who originally interviewed her, with Tyler’s client—enabling Judy to take over the case. In gratitude, Judy offers Mengzhi a full-time position.
Sirui and Mengzhi eventually reconcile. Inspired by Mengzhi’s courage and integrity, Sirui decides to pursue her long-held dream of becoming a documentary filmmaker. She secures funding in France and prepares to return to Beijing to shoot her first film.
Just as Mengzhi begins to settle into her new role, HR announces that it will no longer sponsor visas for off-cycle interns who convert to full-time positions in New York. Judy appeals to her superior on Mengzhi’s behalf, but the request is denied—senior leadership sees no further use for Mengzhi. She now faces a 90-day deadline to find another finance job that offers visa sponsorship. But this time, instead of feeling lost, she takes a step back to reflect on the toxic environment of investment banking. She begins to devote more of her time to an educational NGO and a reading group focused on anti-colonialism, truly starting to engage with and experience the world around her.
To request the full script, please contact Jackie (Zhanqi) Zhang at zhazhang@chapman.edu.