Year of the Dragon

Stanley White is New York City's most decorated police captain and a Vietnam War veteran assigned to New York City's Chinatown. His personal mission to crack down on Chinese organized crime causes him to neglect his wife, Connie. White comes into conflict with Joey Tai, a young man who ruthlessly rises to become the head of the Triads. As a result of his ambition, he creates a high profile for himself and the Triads' activities. Together, they end the uneasy truce that has existed between the Triads and the police precinct, even as they conduct a personal war between themselves and the Italian Mob and Thai gangsters who have traditionally been involved in their heroin supply chain. The married captain also becomes romantically involved with Tracy Tzu, a television reporter, who comes under brutal attack from the criminals, as does White's long-suffering wife Connie. This makes him even more determined to destroy the triads, and especially Joey Tai. White also hires an up-and-coming Chinese rookie cop, Herbert, to go undercover as one of Tai's restaurant workers. Herbert manages to obtain inside information on a drug shipment, but he is betrayed by corrupt cop Alan Perez and is killed when Tai is informed by Perez that Herbert is a cop. Now that Tai's gang has raped Tzu, killed White's wife, and Herbert, White wastes no time in confronting Tai just as the shipment arrives. At the harbor, Tai and his bodyguard are on their way to the shipment when White attempts to arrest them. Perez drives by, yelling abuse. White shoots and kills Perez, but Tai draws a gun and shoots White in the hand, also accidentally killing his bodyguard. Tai flees on a train bridge. This leads to a showdown where White and Tai run at each other while firing recklessly. White shoots Tai, leaving him wounded in both legs. Rather than suffer, and losing face, Tai asks for White's gun in order to commit suicide. He kills himself in front of White. The final scene shows White and Tzu coming together in the streets of Chinatown at Tai's funeral.