In director Ming-liang Tsai's reflection on life in modern Malaysia, homeless Chinese immigrant Hsiao-kang (Kang-sheng Lee) becomes the locus of a triangle in Kuala Lumpur after grifters brutally beat him and leave him for dead. Rescued and nursed back to health by Rawang (Norman Bin Atun), the recovering Hsiao meets a winsome Chinatown waitress (Shiang-chyi Chen) and is soon caught between them. Meanwhile, a noxious haze envelops the city.