the killer

A Hong Kong assassin, Ah Jong (Chow Yun-fat), is on his last job for the Triad (a criminal organization), but accidentally damages the eyes of a young nightclub singer named Jennie (Sally Yeh) with a muzzle flash in a shootout. After the attack, Ah Jong begins to watch Jennie perform at the nightclub and escorts her home when she is attacked by thugs. Jennie and Ah Jong begin to fall in love during his frequent visits at her apartment. Driven to help her secure the money for a sight-saving corneal transplant, he accepts one final hit. A police detective, Li Ying (Danny Lee), spots Ah Jong completing the job but Ah Jong escapes. The Triad double crosses Ah Jong and instead of paying him sends assassins to kill him. During Ah Jong's escape from the Triad, a young child is injured by a stray bullet. Ah Jong saves the child by taking her to the hospital.

Li becomes obsessed with Ah Jong's act of good will. Li and his partner Sgt. Tsang (Kenneth Tsang) find out Ah Jong visits Jennie at her apartment; they plan to arrest Ah Jong the next time he visits. Ah Jong visits Jennie and is caught in an ambush from which he manages to scramble away. Li and Tsang explain to Jennie that Ah Jong was the assassin that blinded her at the nightclub. Ah Jong meets with his Triad manager, Fung Sei (Chu Kong), and demands his payment for finishing the job. This is a Triad ambush which Ah Jong fights and escapes, but he leaves Fung Sei alive.

Li begins to close-in on Ah Jong after Tsang follows Fung Sei, Tsang is killed after revealing the location of his home. Because of their friendship, Fung Sei leaves a large stock pile of weaponry for Ah Jong. The home is another ambush; Li is first to attack followed by a group of Triad. Li gets caught in the middle of Ah Jong and the Triad. Ah Jong and Li flee, and while Ah Jong's wounds are healing, they find themselves bonding and becoming friends. Li, Ah Jong, and Jennie wait in a church for Fung Sei to return with Ah Jong's money. Fung Sei arrives with the money, horribly beaten by gangsters who have followed him. A bloody shootout among the men ends with a Mexican standoff between the leader of the Triad, Wong Hoi, and Ah Jong and Li. Ah Jong manages to shoot Wong Hoi, but Wong Hoi is able to return a shot which kills Ah Jong. A police squadron arrives; Wong Hoi begs to be taken into custody but Li fatally shoots him.

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