Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) works for the Triad (underground society), whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US bank notes. Ho is a respected member of the organization and is entrusted with the most important transactions. Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat), another high-ranking member of the group,<ref name="A better 2013"></ref> is his best friend and partner in crime.
Several years after the events of ''A Better Tomorrow'', Sung Tse-ho (Ti Lung) is offered early parole by the police in exchange for spying on his former boss and mentor, Lung Sei (Dean Shek), who is suspected of heading a counterfeiting operation. Inspector Wu (Lau Siu-ming), the leader of the crime task force, wants to mark his retirement with the capture of a high profile criminal like Lung.
The year is 1974. A young Hong Kong Chinese, Mark, travels to Saigon to make his fortune. There, he encounters a mysterious femme fatale, the lovely Kit. As he becomes more involved in her various underworld deals, a tragic romance develops. On the eve of the outbreak of war, Kit's past returns to endanger her, and Mark must risk everything for the one true love of his life.