Set in Hong Kong in the 1980s, the film follows a fisherman’s son who rises to become a powerful tai pan.

Hakky Ho (James Yi Lui) holds on to his love of acting and dreams of being a star despite the chaotic, brutal, low-paying, hilarious reality of life as an extra. He falls in love with fellow extra Siu-Fong (Idy Chan), but the star (Kenneth Tsang) wants her for his next extra-marital conquest.

With World War II looming, a prominent family in China must confront the contrasting ideas of traditionalism, communism and Western thinking, while dealing with the most important ideal of all: love and its meaning in society.