"A Forbidden Love and Other Stories" follows a man and woman with many differences through five short stories. A naval officer injured during Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan falls in love with a local medical assistant who is extremely conservative and against foreign interventions. She is the last person to have a relationship with foreigners, let alone a military officer. A Chinese spy who is a medical doctor and a biology doctorate student at UC Berkeley attempts to eradicate HIV infection from her home village. She employs the most advanced US biotechnology with the help of a Chinese American businessman, despite the Chinese government's regulation banning such a treatment. A small-town police chief meets a state police sergeant who tries to solve a thirty-year-old cold case with a recently received tip from a nursing home resident who has recaptured her old memory. A middle-aged single-mother nurse and a retired accountant find love between them during their trip to her hometown. A love that each once gave up in their lives. A state regional public health officer fights against coronavirus outbreaks despite her state's objection and achieves the best result in the country.