Veteran officer Reid Malcolm and his young Asian partner, Nadine Yu, sneak up on smugglers of illegal Asians in a harborfront warehouse. Reid has been tipped off that Chen Kong, the reclusive kingpin of the whole operation, is present. But Chen Kong leaves before the police squad can get its members in place for an all-out raid.   So Reid, in an hysterical, suicidal stunt, jumps in to take on the gang single-handedly. Reid survives, but Chen escapes.

 

Reid is berated by his superiors for such lunatic behavior. Nadine is particularly upset and approaches Captain Arnold, their superior officer and Reid’s longtime friend. He tells the story behind Reid’s self-destructive behavior.

 

Reid has always been on the Asian squad.  A few years earlier, had lead an operation to break up a prostitution ring in which young girls were illegally smuggled into the country and held prisoner as hookers. One such girl, Mai, appeared so vulnerable and innocent that Reid became  involved in helping her overcome her trauma. In the process, the two fell madly in love. They were preparing to marry when she suddenly disappeared. He combed the city, the country, the globe for Mai, but never found any trace of her.

 

Reid has never been the same since. Life has lost its purpose and he has developed a death wish. The only thing Reid clings to is the burning obsession is to capture Chen Kong, the world’s leading snakehead, who is responsible for exploiting thousands of Asians.

 

Nadine returns to the case with Reid who has developed an inside contact leading directly to Chen. Posing as an employer needing cheap labor, Reid goes undercover to meet with Chen. At the fateful meeting, Reid finds himself face to face with his hated rival, who turns out to be Mai.

 

She knows he’s a cop – will she blow his cover? He loves her more than life itself – will he be able to arrest her?

 

They arrange to meet secretly and immediately rekindle their deep passion for one another. In flashback, she explains how she was kidnapped by a triad just before her wedding to Reid. With her family at home and her child here under threat by the triad, Mai had to cooperate. She worked as a snakehead and eventually built an empire that has made her rich and powerful. But she is still under the control of the triad.

 

The lovers conspire to betray their own worlds – his world of law and police, hers of triads and smuggling – in order to be free to love one another. But Nadine has been observing and is marshalling the police to close in on Mai and the smuggling operation. At the same time, Mai’s own henchmen are discovering Reid’s true identity.

 

A massive shipment of illegals arrives on a rusty freighter in the harbor. Reid and Mai also show up to make their final escape. But the police surreptitiously close in. And the henchmen prepare to finish off both Reid and Mai. In the ensuing gun battle, final loyalties and ultimate love is put to the test.