The sexually repressed widow Doan comes to play tennis in the court where sly, lewd orphan Xuan (nicknamed Red-haired Xuan for his sunburnt hair) is working as a ball boy. Their encounter that day would change Xuan's life forever, as the widow introduced him to an entirely different world of the hypocritical and decadent petite bourgeoisie class, a condition of "Westernized" middle-class Hanoians under French colonial rule in the 1920s. An 8-part series adapted from Vu Trong Phung's classic satire.

Sơn applies to clerk for a director at a research institute but is instead assigned to spy on Linh, the director's beloved daughter. Offered a generous sum of salary while still struggling a secure a job, the young man happily undertakes the peculiar duty with great prudence, much to Linh's chagrin.