Three gods are on a journey to find out if there are any good people left on earth. Only Shen Te, a good-hearted prostitute, offers them shelter. With the money they give her she opens a tobacco shop. At once everyone needs her help. Her livelihood is in danger. Worse, she is falling in love with Sun, a pilot, who is robbing her blind. Her hard-hearted cousin Shui Ta arrives to protect her. Who is he and how can good people stay good in a world of poverty and cruelty? This new translation by David Harrower, based on the Santa Monica version (previously unpublished) of Brecht's famous parable, premiered at the Young Vic, London, in 2008.