The film begins following the British victory of the first Opium War and the seizure of Hong Kong. Although the island is largely uninhabited and the terrain unfriendly, it has a large port that both the British government and various trading companies believe will be useful for the import of merchandise to be traded on mainland China, a highly lucrative market.
Bryan Brown
Joan Chen
John Stanton
Tim Guinee
Bill Leadbitter
Kyra Sedgwick
Russell Wong
Katy Behean
Janine Turner
Norman Rodway
John Bennett
Derrick Branche
Vic Armstrong
Dickey Beer
Phil Chatterton Tongplaw
Chen Kuan-Tai
Chen Shu
Chen Chuang
Rosemarie Dunham
Robert Easton
Richard Foo
Nicholas Gecks
Carol Gillies
Pat Gorman
Michael C. Gwynne
Billy Horrigan
Barbara Keogh
Joycelyne Lew
Lisa Lu
Bronco McLoughlin
Glen Murphy
Bert Remsen
Patrick Ryecart
Rob Spendlove
Patty Toy
Zhang Jie
Mason Cardiff
Denise Kellogg
Gam Biu
Chan Lap-Ban