In 1985, Cheung Yau-ming was one of five miscreants involved in the brutal murder of a white couple. As he was still a juvenile, the court ordered that he be "detained at Her Majesty's pleasure," a clause in British law allowing the government to imprison young offenders for an indefinite period. The film picks up in 1997, with Yau-ming (now 28) being paid a visit by a girl named Cheung Yue-ling. With only six months to go before the Handover, Yau-ming and 22 other prisoners hope to have their sentences determined soon, fearing what might happen should the decision about what to do with them become the province of incoming Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

A priest hears a prostitute's confession, a tale which has a 200,000 HK$ debt as its centerpiece. The prostitute accidentally leaves behind an envelope with her address in the confessional. Concealing his true occupation, the priest rents a room in her apartment and begins to straighten out her life. But then she begins to fall in love with the priest...

Through much blood, sweat and tears, a young man rises to the top of Shanghai's secret society, but his moment of glory is brief compared to what he has endured.

The rivalry between two Chinese prison factions heats up as a seasoned inmate forms an alliance that could cost him more than his freedom.