With a scholarship, Zhang Yipeng (Andy Lau) gets the opportunity to study in France. After returning to China, he is appointed as the first commissioner of Shanghai's anti-smoking (opium) operation. Zhang was influenced by Western culture and values in France and was very bookish. As soon as he came to Shanghai with his wife (Chan Siu-ha), he started a series of actions, not knowing that China is different from Western countries in terms of national conditions and it is difficult to have a sound legal system and social order: Police Chief Ni Kun (Gu Baoming) and drug lord Dai Jimin (Damian Lau) are sworn brothers. Together, they control all illegal transactions in Shanghai, including the sale of opium. Seeing that several bribes to Zhang were fruitless, they swore to make Zhang live a life worse than death.