A noir mystery set in San Francisco, The Chinese Jars follows Samuel Hamilton, an ad salesman for the local newspaper, as he investigate the suspicious death of a casual acquaintance. The unraveling evidence leads him through a maze of traffickers in Chinese art and antiquities to Mister Song's Many Chinese Herbs store. Mr. Song is a very powerful man in his neighborhood, and his vessels are a safe place for Chinatown residents to deposit money and documents.