The story centers on Chen Mo, a young man from Northeast China who drops out of school after his family falls apart. Starting out as a street thug who gets into brawls, he uses ruthless tactics and cunning to seize control of the local underworld amid the social upheaval of the early reform era. In time, he becomes a crime lord whose influence spans the underworld, legitimate society, and business, but the price is a devastating loss of family, love, and humanity.
