The Last Tycoon

Cheng Daqi, a fruit vendor from Chuansha, is arrested and imprisoned after being framed for murder in the 1910s. A military officer named Mao Zai rescues him, and Cheng travels to Shanghai to seek a new life. This escape marks the start of his perilous ascent into the city’s underworld.

In Shanghai, Cheng meets mob boss Hong Shouting and becomes one of his protégés. He learns the ropes of the city’s criminal power and earns Hong’s trust. This alliance lays the groundwork for Cheng’s later rise in Shanghai’s underworld.

Cheng falls in love with Bao, a singer he meets in Shanghai, whom he eventually marries. The story also reveals his longing for Ye Zhiqiu, an opera actress from his hometown who remains his true love. These romantic ties pull him between different worlds and loyalties.

When Hong offends the son of General Lu, Hong is captured. Cheng negotiates with General Lu to secure Hong’s release and to win investment for Hong’s bank. The arrangement crowns Hong as Cheng’s sworn brother, elevating Cheng’s standing in Shanghai’s underworld.

Twenty years after the earlier events, Cheng has become one of Shanghai’s most influential tycoons. His circle includes Xiaopang and Lin Huai, and he maintains close ties with Hong and Ling Husheng. He also meets Ye Zhiqiu again when she visits Shanghai, only to learn she is married to anti-government activist Cheng Zhaimei.

The Second Sino-Japanese War erupts in 1937. Cheng and Ye survive an air raid and an abduction attempt by the Japanese, while Mao Zai helps arrange their escape to Hong Kong. Bao remains behind as a hostage to secure their agreement.

After the fall of Shanghai, Mao defects to the Japanese and becomes a provincial governor. The Japanese general Nishino wants to install Cheng as the puppet mayor of Shanghai, so Mao suggests using Cheng’s loved ones to lure him back.

From Hong Kong, Cheng and Ye learn that Hong Shouting, Ling Husheng, and others have been captured, tortured and humiliated by the Japanese. The devastating news hardens their resolve to strike back at their captors.

Cheng and Ye return to Shanghai and reluctantly cooperate with the Japanese authorities to save their loved ones and to assassinate Nishino. The mission is born out of necessity, not trust, and carries immense personal risk.

One evening, Nishino and Mao are distracted by Ye’s opera performance in a theater, allowing Cheng, Lin Huai, Xiaopang and their mob to raid a Japanese base to free prisoners. They manage to free some captives but fail to reach Ling and Hong in time.

Lin Huai sacrifices himself to slow the pursuing Japanese. Cheng, Ye, and their allies press the assault into the theatre, killing Nishino and several Japanese officers and collaborators. The triumph is hollow as the cost is immense.

Mao corners Ye at gunpoint in the theatre while Bao arrives to protect her. Bao sacrifices herself to save Ye, prompting Cheng to shoot and kill Mao in a fury. He, Bao, and Xiaopang attempt to flee in a car but are trapped by soldiers and killed as the car is opened fire upon.