The Godfather of the Gray Market

· On the surface: the underdog tale of a young man’s rise to the top.

· Beneath that: a reflection of the underworld amid the social changes of a particular era in China, and a dark epic of the survival and rise of ethnic Chinese against the backdrop of globalization.

· At its core: a meditation on power, redemption, and legacy.

· How power is gained, wielded, and relinquished.