China, 1911... The Republic has replaced the Emperor. Orphaned Zhongliang lives with his sister who has married into the powerful Pang family. Tired of being treated like a servant, he runs away. Picked up by the Shanghai gangster Biggie, he grows to be as expert at seducing and blackmailing older, unmarried women. Meanwhile, Ruyi has inherited the Pang " family," assisted by a distant cousin who loves her secretly. Biggie hears this and sends Zhongliang to seduce Ruyi. An emotional maelstrom follows, culminating in a climax in the casinos and night-clubs of Shanghai.