Life Without Principle 2011

Teresa Denise Ho Wan-Si works in mutual fund sales at a bank and lives under the pressure of looming sales quotas. Her job security feels fragile after a failed attempt to move funds to Chung Yuen, a loan shark who casts a long shadow over her department. In a later bid to salvage the portfolio, she manages a sale to Siu-kuen, an elderly client whose risk profile makes the fund unsuitable, leaving Teresa wary of further missteps and the possible consequences at work.

Connie [Myolie Wu Hang-Yee] is frustrated by her husband Ching-fong’s reluctance to buy a condo. She turns to Teresa for guidance on mortgage criteria and, on impulse, commits to the purchase herself. Yet market volatility drags the condo price downward, and her attempt to back out proves impossible. In the end, a property agent finds a buyer who offers more than her original price, leaving Connie caught between a difficult decision and a market that won’t cooperate.

Panther [Sean Lau] presides over the birthday banquet for his triad boss Lai Kwan, a high-stakes moment that pulls in several tangled loyalties. In the midst of the celebration, Ching-fong arrives to arrest Yiu-wah, prompting Panther to rally funds to bail him out. Dragon helps by steering Panther toward a trading setup in the Hang Seng Futures market, but a bad bet drains money borrowed from mob boss Mr. Sung. When Dragon later calls on Panther to arrange a loan from Chung Yuen, the plan spirals toward violence: Dragon is stabbed by Mr. Sung and dies while the loan plays out.

Teresa then meets with the lender to hand over a $10 million cash withdrawal, only to face a sudden shift in the deal. Dragon negotiates to borrow just $5 million, and in the rush to deliver cash, Teresa is urged to deposit the remaining $5 million back into the lender’s account without a signed slip. On the way to meet Dragon, the lender is attacked and dies, altering the balance of the scheme. Panther seizes the $5 million and uses it to place a bold bet on the futures market in an attempt to recover Dragon’s losses; the bet turns a sizable profit, but with Dragon gone, Panther keeps the winnings. Seeing the lender’s death, Teresa chooses to keep the remaining $5 million and resigns from the bank, stepping away from a world where money, risk, and loyalty are in constant, dangerous flux.