Kao (Jack Kao) is a disillusioned small-time gangster from the backwater 'burbs of Taipei who longs for a more substantial life. Collecting his ill-gotten savings, Kao invests in a restaurant. But his entrepreneurial dream soon fades when his dim-witted partner in crime, Flat Head (Lim Giong), digs himself into debt with a group of corrupt politicians. Hou Hsiao-Hsien directs this gritty and rhythmically complex crime drama.