Kaier has carried a torch for Lou since he rescued her from a flash flood when they were children. Kaier is a bright, ambitious child, but in rural China, she is expected to help at home, raise her younger brothers, and be the best in school. She battles for her education until one tragic day when her baby brother wanders out into an oncoming dust storm, Kaier runs into the storm to save him and makes herself desperately ill.

Kaier's time in a hospital fuels her ambition to be a doctor and when Lou seems more interested in her beautiful cousin than he is in her, she dives headfirst into life in Nanjing, the large coastal city where she can pursue her university degree. When Lou's wife becomes sick with myeloma, Kaier needs to decide if she's willing to help her or does she want Lou for herself. Oasis explores the power of devotion, both to those we love and those places we first called home.