When influential Chinese artist Ma Liang (a.k.a. Maleonn) realizes that his father Ma Ke an accomplished Peking Opera director is suffering from Alzheimer's disease he invites his father to collaborate on his most ambitious project to date - a haunting magical autobiographical stage performance featuring life-size mechanical puppets called "Papa's Time Machine". Through the creation of this play the two men confront their mortality before time runs out and memories are lost forever.