Having spent several wasted months in a Shanghai opium dem, former prostitute Cassie Cook yearns to start her life afresh. Likewise, ex-convict Badlands McKinney also wants to clean up his act.

Having spent several wasted months in a Shanghai opium den, former prostitute Cassie Cook yearns to start her life afresh; ex-convict Badlands McKinney also wants to clean up his act. Upon meeting each other, Cassie and McKinney each assume that the other is a pillar of respectability. This mutual self-deception eventually blossoms into love and opens the door for redemption. The fly in the ointment is Repen, an unforgiving detective who knows the truth about both Cassie and McKinney.—Ulf Kjell Gür