Nothing is what it seems in this Casablanca-style international thriller set in the ancient Chinese city a week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. Secret Agent Paul Soames (John Cusack) has just arrived to investigate the murder of his best friend (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), only to become quickly immersed in a web of conspiracy and lies that beset the city. Shadowed by a Japanese intelligence officer Tanaka (Ken Watanabe), Soames investigation quickly centers on a charismatic local gangster, Anthony Lanting (Chow Yun-Fat) and Lantings beautiful wife, Anna (Gong Li). Before long, Soames and Anna are involved in an affair that will put everything they have at stake. As national loyalties are traded fast-and-loose for those of the heart, Soames and Anna must race to solve the mystery and make it out of occupied China before the citys collapse.