A Better Tomorrow

Ho and Mark oversee a fresh batch of counterfeit notes being printed, ensuring the operation runs smoothly. They then meet with foreign clients to trade the counterfeit product for counterfeit Hong Kong dollar notes, establishing the scale of their criminal enterprise.

Kit has just graduated and is being steered toward a police career, a path Ho outwardly supports while hiding his criminal life. Their ailing father pleads with Ho to leave crime behind, and Ho promises to retire after his next deal in Taiwan.

Shing joins Ho as a partner, but their operation is ambushed by Taiwanese triads, sparking a violent shootout. Ho and Shing flee through a sewage tunnel with local law enforcement in pursuit, and Ho tells Shing to run for his life.

To buy time for Shing to escape, Ho surrenders to the police, accepting responsibility and sealing his fate with a three-year prison sentence.

Triads try to kidnap Ho's father to pressure Ho into silence, but Kit and his girlfriend Jackie intervene. The attacker is fatally stabbed, and Ho's father dies in front of them, leaving a dying plea for forgiveness that fuels Kit's anger toward Ho.

After learning of the ambush, Mark travels to Taiwan, where he corners the planner and kills him in a restaurant shootout. Mark sustains a serious leg injury in the pursuit and becomes crippled, requiring a leg brace.

Ho is released from prison but rejects a corrupt policeman's offer to rejoin the triad. He instead starts working for a taxi company run by ex-con Ken, attempting a fresh start.

Ho runs into Mark during a taxi shift and learns his old friend has become a bitter, broken shell after Shing's rise to power. Mark urges Ho to confront Shing, but Ho refuses and seeks to reconcile with Kit instead.

Kit, now a police officer, rebuffs Ho's reconciliation and becomes obsessed with taking down Shing. Shing's men attack the taxi company, beat Mark, and lure Kit into a trap, leaving Kit critically wounded.

Mark and Ho recover a computer tape with printing plate data and discover Shing orchestrated the ambush years earlier. They decide to use the tape to blackmail Shing in exchange for money and an escape boat.

Shing shoots triad leader Yie and arranges witnesses to lie about Ho's involvement. Ho and Mark use the tape as leverage to extract money and secure an escape boat, and Ho ensures the tape reaches Kit as proof of Shing's crimes.

Ho and Mark take the money to a pier where Shing's men await. Ho pleads with Mark to escape by boat, and Mark reluctantly agrees to leave Ho to handle the confrontation.

Kit arrives to arrest Shing, but the scene devolves into a hostage situation and a gunfight. Mark is fatally shot by Shing during the chaos, tipping the balance of the fight.

Ho shoots Shing dead and then handcuffs himself to Kit, signaling a fractured but acknowledged bond between the brothers. They walk toward the police together as Shing's body falls, ending the confrontation.