The film is set in 1940s Shanghai, a tumultuous time depicted with a mix of gritty realism and surreal, cartoonish fantasy. The story follows Sing (Stephen Chow), a hapless thief who aspires to be a ruthless gangster. He attempts to join the notorious Axe Gang, a move that inadvertently drags a quiet residential complex known as Pig Sty Alley into a gang war.