A Better Tomorrow

Ho and Mark oversee the printing of counterfeit notes, maintaining a lucrative operation. They travel to meet foreign clients to exchange counterfeit US dollars for counterfeit Hong Kong dollars. The prologue follows a typical day in their world as the batch is prepared and brokered.

Ho hides his criminal life from Kit, who has just graduated and is training to join the police. Their ailing father pleads with Ho to leave the life of crime behind. Ho vows to retire after the next deal in Taiwan, hoping to protect his brother.

Shing is introduced as a low-ranking triad member who joins Ho as a mentor. Ho takes him under his wing and Shing begins his rise within the organization. The partnership promises new opportunities and power.

The triad group is ambushed by Taiwanese rivals during a deal, triggering a fierce shootout. Ho and Shing flee through a sewage tunnel while police close in. To buy time for Shing's escape, Ho surrenders, receiving a three-year prison sentence.

While Ho is imprisoned, a triad gang tries to kidnap Ho's father as leverage to force silence. The attacker fatally stabs Ho's father before Kit and his girlfriend Jackie subdue him. With his dying breath, the father pleads Kit to forgive Ho, and Kit blames Ho for the death.

Mark travels to Taiwan to confront the planner of the ambush and seek answers. He shoots the gangster who ordered the ambush, ending the confrontation with a fatal exchange. During the clashes, Mark is wounded in the leg, leaving him crippled and wearing a leg brace.

Ho is released from prison and declines a corrupt policeman's offer to return to triad life. He begins working for a taxi company run by a fellow ex-con named Ken. On shift, Ho encounters Mark, who has become a bitter, broken shell after Shing's rise to power.

Ho seeks reconciliation with Kit, hoping to repair their frayed bond. Kit rebuffs him, already deep in his police career and wary of Ho's influence. Mark urges Ho to confront Shing, but Ho hesitates, trying to distance himself further.

Shing pushes Ho back toward crime by pressing for drug trafficking. He has his men attack the taxi company, beat Mark, and lure Kit into a deadly trap. Ho finally agrees to retaliate after seeing the damage to his brother and friend.

Mark steals a computer tape containing the printing plate data from the counterfeiting operation. They discover Shing orchestrated the ambush three years earlier and used it to seize control. Ho and Mark decide to use the tape to blackmail Shing in exchange for money and a way out.

Ho ensures the tape is passed to Kit as proof of Shing's crimes. Using Shing as a hostage, Ho and Mark travel to a pier to secure the ransom money and the escape boat. Shing's men await the exchange, ready for a final confrontation.

Kit arrives intending to arrest Shing but is taken hostage, triggering a tense standoff. A gunfight erupts as Shing's men close in, and Mark returns to aid his friends at the last moment. Mark is fatally shot by Shing, and Ho shoots Shing in turn before handcuffing himself to Kit and walking toward the waiting police.