The surrealist visionary Maleonn, one of China’s most influential contemporary artists, realises that his father, an accomplished Peking Opera director, is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing that time is running out and having always had a complex relationship with his father, Maleonn invites him to collaborate on his latest art project. As Maleonn struggles to determine what will be the most valuable way to confront the challenges of aging and memory, he zeros in on what will be a magical autobiographical stage performance called Papa's Time Machine, featuring inventive life-size mechanical puppets and a fantastic steampunk time machine. It is through this joint creation that father and son face their shared love and their own mortality.