It would be trite to say everyone has secrets, but without being too simple, there is so much going on you could get lost following the subplots. Everyone is looked down upon, every rung of the social ladder has it's "low man", so there are schemes to get ahead, schemes to cover one's past, schemes to hide current dealings, and schemes to get around prejudices. I'm not an acting critic, but I found everyone believable and I actually found myself siding with the slightly underhanded rouge Leung Wei Shing. The scenery is appropriately dingy and gray. The clothes look as if they smell bad. The character arcs would be enough to follow just for their results, but throw in a murdered white woman on Chinese miner grounds and there is fuel for a battle royale.