Nadat hij voor onbepaalde tijd met verlof is gestuurd door zijn oom de politiechef , gaat de zeer intelligente en arrogante jager-spin Inspector Sun aan boord van een watervliegtuig met bestemming San Francisco. Samen met een onverschrokken jonge fan wordt Sun betrokken bij een moordzaak waarbij de uitkomst gevolgen kan hebben voor zowel de insecten- als de mensenwereld.
De film is een omnibus van drie verschillende verhalen over een jeugd gesitueerd in drie steden van China. De vertellingen verkennen de eenvoudige geneugten van het leven door middel van sensuele herinneringen.
Set against the backdrop of massive economic growth in the 1990s, the story follows A Bao, a self-made millionaire and his journey from being a young opportunist with a troubled past to accumulating dazzling wealth in the city of Shanghai. It also follows his entanglement with four women who represent the pursuits of his life: adventure, honour, love and innocence.
The young man from the small town, Tao Wujie, was accepted into the Binjiang branch of Shenmao Bank, starting from the very bottom as a teller. His girlfriend, Tian Xiaohui, a Shanghai girl, entered a trust company through the introduction of her cousin. The two vowed to make great strides in the financial industry and strive to establish themselves in Shanghai as soon as possible. Tao Wujie, diligent and capable, stood out and was spotted and carefully mentored by the branch manager Zhao Hui and the audit director Miao Che, gradually finding his purpose and direction in his banking work; while Xiaohui, after entering the trust capital, brutally fought for survival, climbing up step by step only to discover that in this world of money, the two faced various challenges and tests. Wujie and Xiaohui, Zhao Hui and Miao Che, two generations of financial workers in the city, experienced career choices and fluctuations in fate.
