The Hatchet Man

Hop Li, a member of the powerful Lem Sing Tong, dies and his funeral procession winds through DuPont Street. The somber ceremony is a visible reminder of the tong wars that grip the community. His death becomes the catalyst that sets revenge and loyalty into motion.

A huge dragon banner unfolds, signaling the onset of war and panic across the district. Wong Low Get is summoned from Sacramento to seek vengeance for Hop Li's death. Nog Hong Fah informs him that Sun Yat Ming, Wong's childhood friend, is the guilty party.

Sun Yat Ming forgives Wong and leaves everything to him with a request to raise Toya San and marry her when she comes of age. Wong reveals he is the Lem Sing Tong hatchet man, bound to carry out justice. He swears before the Buddha to keep Toya's happiness safe.

Chinatown is a far cry from the old days of tong wars; queues and chop-sticks have faded, yet friction remains. Wong is now a wealthy businessman, while Nog resents the new freedoms and intelligence of women. Toya's birthday marks a turning point as tradition clashes with modern choice.

Wong offers Toya his mother's ring and proclaims his love. She responds that her father's wish is also hers, reinforcing their bond. Wong kneels before a Buddha statue and vows to bring her only happiness, reinforcing the fragile pact between them.

On the day of the wedding, the Bing Foo declares war, threatening a nationwide conflict. Wong fears the repercussions and hires bodyguards while Nog assigns the dashing Harry En Hai to watch over Wong. Toya, educated and modern, initially brushes off Harry's attention.

Threats deepen as Chung Ho is killed, pushing Wong to Sacramento to confront the Bing Foo. Big Jim Malone refuses to cooperate, and Wong eliminates him, bringing the conflict to an end. The power of a single hatchet man shifts the balance of violence.

Harry seduces Toya, and when Wong returns, he finds them embracing. Toya steps between them and recalls Wong's promise to make her happy, yet Wong sacrifices Toya's happiness to Harry. This act seals Wong's fall from grace as he is stricken from the Tong's records.

Because of the 'unworthy act,' Wong is erased from the Tong's records and ostracized. He sinks into poverty, cut off from the community he once protected. The betrayal fractures his identity and sets him on a new, solitary path.

Toya sends a note written from a 'living death' in China, telling Wong that she loves only him. She and Harry are deported after the government cracks down on opium, forcing Wong to confront a future without their shared life.

Wong journeys across the Pacific to China, taking work as a stoker to survive. He redeems his hatchets from pawn, reaffirming his identity as a hatchet man even in exile. The voyage marks the hard return to the life he once vowed to protect Toya from.

Toya is a prisoner in an opium den, sold to Madame Si-Si by Harry. Wong confronts the den and demands his wife, while Toya sees him and experiences a flicker of hope. Madame Si-Si scoffs, but Wong proves his claim by striking the eye of a dragon in a wall painting, signaling a dangerous turn.

Madame Si-Si shrieks as violence erupts around the partition; Harry's body falls, and the hatchet is revealed lodged in his skull. The moment culminates with the Buddha statue as Wong repeats his warning that the great Lord Buddha will find wrongdoers wherever they hide. The vow ends with a hard-won guarantee that no crime escapes the eyes of fate.