The plot is deceptively simple: Set in 1960s Hong Kong, it follows Yuddy (a preternaturally beautiful Leslie Cheung), a playboy who lives by his own cruel philosophy. He seduces women—a patient ticket-seller named Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) and a vivacious dancer (Carina Lau)—only to abandon them. He searches for his biological mother, who abandoned him. He despises commitment. He is, in his own words, "a bird with no feet," who can only land once: when it dies.
The story centers on Yuddy, a charming but emotionally unavailable young man who drifts through relationships with several women—most notably Li-zhen and Mimi—while searching for his elusive past and his absent mother. Parallel subplots follow other characters whose lives intersect with Yuddy’s orbit, building a portrait of love, abandonment, and the desire for belonging. The film ends on an unresolved note, emphasizing emotional incompletion.
The body contains a single sentence:
The film famously ends with a mysterious, one-minute scene of in a cramped room, meticulously grooming himself and getting ready to go out.
Themes and tone