With the living standard of most citizens in 20th-Century Malaya being substandard, everyone works their best to make ends meet.

The narrative follows a protaganist named Ah Beng, a thief whose morals empathize with the people in need and who only steals from the rich. A gold heist gone bust, Ah Beng must now flee from the pursuing police as he traverses the townscape in his escapade.