Tang Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao) has arrived in Shanghai to work for a Triad Boss (played by Li Baotian), also named Tang. He is taken to a warehouse where two rival groups of Triads carry out an opium deal that goes wrong, leaving one of the rival members dead. Shuisheng is then taken by his uncle to Tang's palatial home, where he is assigned to serve Xiao Jinbao (Gong Li), a cabaret singer and girlfriend of the Boss. It is soon learned that Jinbao is also carrying on an affair with the Boss's number two man, Song (Sun Chun).
On the third night, Shuisheng witnesses a bloody gang fight between the Boss and a rival, Fat Yu. The Boss and a small entourage retreat to an island. There, Jinbao befriends Cuihau (Jiang Baoying), a peasant woman. When Jinbao unwittingly meddles with Cuihua's business, it results in the Boss's men killing Cuihua's lover. Furious, Jinbao confronts the Boss and tells Shuisheng to leave Shanghai.
By the seventh day, Song arrives to the island along with Zheng (Fu Biao), the Boss's number three man. During a mahjong game, the Boss calmly confronts Song with evidence of his treachery. The gang kills Song's men and buries Song alive. The Boss then informs Jinbao that she will have to die as well for her role in Song's betrayal. As Shuisheng attempts to save his mistress from her fate, he is thrown back and beaten. The film then ends with Shuisheng tied to the sails of the ship as it sails back to Shanghai. |