Dahai, a former mine foreman, has watched his company privatized and the workers laid off for too long. He also knows the new head of the company, who used to be the mayor and now flies in on a private jet and is welcomed by a folklore group from the village. When Dahai takes this opportunity to denounce the obvious corruption, he is nearly beaten to death by the boss's henchmen. No one comes to his aid. Dahai grabs his shotgun and takes vigilante action. Zhou San returns to his family, from whom he is almost completely estranged, after a long absence. There is a brief moment of calm, just beyond the colorful rockets of the Chinese New Year. Then Zhou San grabs his revolver again and murders a couple on the open street who have just come out of a bank. Xiao Yu is the mistress of a rich man who has little time left for her between a job and a wife. She earns her living as a receptionist in a sauna club. When she is first beaten by her jealous wife and then harassed by two of the club's customers, she takes up a knife and takes revenge for the humiliation she has suffered. Xiao Hui, a young migrant worker, struggles from one exploitative job to the next. When he falls in love with one of the prostitutes working as a security guard in a high-class brothel, some color briefly enters his life. But the love is short-lived - as is his employment. Xiao Hui makes a drastic decision.