Hong Kong 1960. A sweltering hot summer, York (Leslie Cheung), an amoral disillusioned and cruel young man, is kept in luxury by his foster mother, a retired courtesan who gives him everything but the one thing he needs to known-the identity of his natural mother.

A self-obsessed man, desperately seeking his true identity, York plays carelessly with his lovers, a lonely submissive bargirl (Maggie Cheung) and a beautiful club hostess/dancer (Carina Lau) and his friends, before leaving them all for Taiwan in search of the truth that has been denied and may ultimately destroy him.