Adapted from a novelette by Fan Yiping, the film revolves around a small-town policeman who embarks on a search for his missing gun.

The film also explores the themes of self-identity and self-respect, as well as addresses a number of pertinent social issues, such as counterfeits, in China.

War veteran turned small-town policeman Ma Shan (played by Jiang Wen) wakes up after a drunken night at his sister's wedding banquet to find his issued gun missing.

After making sure his wife Han Xiaoyun (Wu Yujuan) and third-grader son have not taken it, Ma embarks on a search around the town.

True to his prediction, the criminal trails Ma, thinking that he is Zhou, shoots him from behind at the railway station but fails to kill him instantly.

The criminal turns out to be Stammer Liu, a local bricklayer whose family was poisoned from drinking Zhou's illicit wine.

The police arrive, and as they rush over to apprehend Liu, Ma—or his hallucination—is shown to suddenly stand up and walk away with his recovered gun, apparently unhurt and laughing (or perhaps crying) at finding his lost weapon.

[4] A DVD featuring subtitles in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese was released on 4 May 2004 and distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment in North America.