唐大中十三年，民间涌现不少反昏君反腐官的组织，其中以打着“杀富济贫推翻朝廷”旗号的飞刀门的势力最大。飞刀门总部设在靠近都城长安的奉天县境内，为保长安安全，朝廷下令奉天县府将飞刀门成员悉数剿灭。奉天县两大捕头刘捕头（刘德华）与金捕头（金城武）收到限期缉拿飞刀门新任帮主归案的命令。因怀疑牡丹坊的舞妓小妹（章子怡）是飞刀门前帮主的女儿，刘捕头设计将她拿下押入天牢，后又与金捕头再度设下圈套令金捕头化身义士将她救出，想骗取她的信任查出飞刀门的巢穴，但他不知的是，除了在公务上与金捕头和小妹打交道外，私情上也会与他们有番纠缠。

电影由两个短片组成。财主胡万年（王憾尘 饰）死了，留下了妻子（王莱 饰）孤身一人无依无靠。胡万年的女儿（胡茵茵 饰）告诉自己的三位兄长，母亲拥有父亲留下的一个大金元宝，价值连城。于是，三个孩子非常殷勤的抢着照顾起母亲来，实际上，他们的举动并非出自真心，而仅仅是为了得到财产而已。最终，母亲去世了，生前受到了孩子们精心的照料，而直到此时，三个男人才知道，他们上了妹妹的当。老板娘嫌弃老板年纪大，婚姻生活失去了激情。一次偶然中，老板娘邂逅了车夫小唐（成龙 饰），两人之间碰撞出的激情的火花。然而很快，这段奸情便被老板给发现了。

Victor (William Levy) is one of the world's most handsome men, but he has a deep secret - he is a cold blooded assassin. Smooth talking and seductive, Victor was raised to do one thing only, which is to kill for money. When he is sent to the home of a brutal drug lord to collect payment for his most recent hit, he encounters the beautiful qiwan.cc Sarai (Alicia Sanz), who has been forced to spend the last 9 years of her life with the drug lord. After Victor leaves the compound, Sarai seizes her chance at freedom by hiding out in Victor's car. But things don't go as planned and instead of being transported back to her home, she finds herself free from one dangerous man only to be caught in the clutches of another. While on the run from the vengeful drug lord and his brutal henchmen, Victor's conscience catches up with him as he risks all that he stood for to protect his captive. In the end, the power Sarai unknowingly holds over Victor and their undeniable attraction may be what places her right in the arms of a killer.

本片乃＜喜八三部曲＞的最後一部，其餘兩部為《心血來潮》及《浮草物語》。本片受到歐洲影評人高度評價，其中小津對低下階層的窮苦市民生活點滴的刻劃，媲美意大利寫實主義大師第昔加執導之經典電影《單車竊賊》。可憐的喜八帶著兩個稚子四處奔波為尋找工作，幾近走投無路，幸得昔日好友之幫助，終於找到工作，得以糊口。可是命運弄人，喜八此時遇上了同病相憐的兩母女，少婦急需大量金錢去支付女兒的醫療費用，喜八唯有不顧一切，跑去偷錢。簡單的故事與結構，襯托出喜八這個苦命爸爸可憐的遭遇，側寫日本戰前貧窮的社會狀況，一針見血。