The assassination of Triad kingpin Kwun in 1991 unleashes a power
struggle among other Triad bosses. While they are all geared up to
make the first move should the Kwun's family collapse into chaos,
Sam (Eric Tsang) remains the only loyalist. Meanwhile, the police
under the command of Inspectors Wong (Anthony Wong) and SP Luk (Hu
Jun) have been placed on the highest alert. A bloodbath is bound to
take place.
To everybody's surprise, the ultimate winner in this scramble is a
most unlikely candidate: Kwun's son Hau. An accountant in training,
Hau has concealed his cunning ruthlessness under an almost
self-effacing facade. Almost effortlessly, he manages to restrain
all the other Triad bosses to become the new kingpin.
To watch over Hau's every step, Wong sends rookie Yan (Shawn Yue;
adult character played by Tony Leung in Infernal Affairs) as a mole
to infiltrate into his organization. It turns out that Yan is
actually Hau's half-brother who has severed all ties with his
father. Inside Hau's organization, Yan befriends Keung (Chapman
To), one of Sam's underlings. Meanwhile, in order to strengthen his
position, Sam has sent a young subordinate Ming (Edison Chen; adult
character played by Andy Lau in Infernal Affairs) to enroll in the
police cadet academy.
Three years have gone by. Yan has become a trusted member in Hau's
organization while Ming has risen up to top ranks in the police
force thanks to information supplied by Sam. In the meantime, Hau
has become more ambitious than ever. He sees to it that all the
other Triad bosses are taken down at the same time. Even Sam is
targeted for elimination in Thailand.
Hau has also found out that in order to help Sam climb up the
echelon in the Triad world, Sam's girlfriend Mary (Carina Lau) has
colluded with Inspector Wong years ago to assassinate his father.
When Ming learns that Mary, on whom he has a secret crush since
time immemorial, is in physical danger, he tries his best to rescue
her, only to see her killed with his naked eyes. With Mary killed,
Wong becomes the next target. When his best friend Luk dies in his
stead, Wong decides to fight back on pain of death.
In 1997, Sam suddenly makes a surprise comeback in Hong Kong. It
turns out that he has survived Hau's assassination attempt and has
been hiding with Keung and others in Thailand. Wong has tracked him
down and has convinced him to come back as a witness against
Hau...
