In late 2021, M on the Bund announced it would be closing its doors after twenty-three years. The restaurant had led a fine-dining renaissance in Shanghai, with flare, daring simplicity and a personal touch. Along the way, it had built a community of diners and artists, reinvigorated a neighbourhood, and defied the odds to outlive its competitors and imitators. In a city defined by change and rapid reinvention, it had become an institution.

Over the course of two months, we follow the team behind M on the Bund as they navigate the highs and lows of a restaurant in its final days, uncovering the memories, legacy and community it leaves in its wake.

At the heart of the story is Michelle Garnaut, a girl from Melbourne who became a towering figure in China. Straight-talking and driven, she challenged expectations and a male-dominated industry; a self-made woman who made waves with her unique sensibility and eye for business.

Her restaurant sat at the centre of Shanghai’s meteoric rise, a remarkable journey in China’s global city that reflects the changing geo-politics of the new millennium, and captures a vision of transnational community in challenging times.