Out of the blue, Wah receives a call from his aunt, informing him that his younger cousin Ngor, whom he has never met, will be coming to stay with him in Hong Kong for the next few days.

Ngor, who works at her family's restaurant on Lantau Island, must come to Hong Kong for a medical procedure.

Wah stumbles home angry and drunk, but when Ngor tries to console him later that night, he becomes very aggressive and threatens to throw her out.

After being chased through the streets, Fly and Site are caught and severely beaten by members of Tony's gang.

As Wah and Ngor are about to leave the apartment, Fly arrives, bruised and bloody and carrying an unconscious Site.

Unable to pay the interest on the debt, Wah steals the money from the owner of the establishment Tony was hired to protect.

Accepting that Fly is not cut out for mob work, Wah gets him a legitimate job selling fishballs from a food cart.

Wah has to cut his visit with Ngor short, after receiving a call from Tony demanding money in exchange for Fly's life.

Fly offers to take the job in order to humiliate Tony, whose thugs abandon him in disgust.

Until the release of The Grandmaster in January 2013, it was Wong Kar-wai's highest-grossing film in Hong Kong.

A retrospective review for The New York Times finds that "As Tears Go By heralds a new vision not yet in perfect focus.