In 1949, the Communists take over mainland. The refugees and the military arrive in the Keelung Harbor in Taiwan. A father holds secret meetings with other generals in attempt to recover the lost land, his kids still play games with their grandma who enjoys the harmony in hardship.

Lin Hsiao-yang tries to keep her family together while working as a waitress at Kentucky Fried Chicken and going to night school. With no mother and her father currently working out of town, it is up to Lin Hsiao-yang to take care of her younger siblings, who are slipping into a life of crime.

An evil wizard finds King Solomon's magic lantern, but Solomon's curse prevents him from taking it - only someone born the same month, same day and same hour as Solomon can take it. That someone is Ali Baba, a poor, kind-hearted lad who lives with his brother, Ali Mama (Eric Tsang). When Ali Baba sees the 40 thieves enter their hideout and learns the ritual needed for entrance, he steals some gold and jewels. The 40 find out and capture Ali Baba, but he is saved by the evil wizard and taken to retrieve the magic lantern. Ali Baba releases the genie...and you know the story. It all culminates in a chase, the wizard on a flying horse and Ali Baba on his flying carpet.

Two independent stories involving chess wizards are interwoven to satirize the politics of the Chinese Cultural Revolution as well as Taiwan's capitalist boom of the 1970's.