故事发生在三十年代的上海滩。戈登·瓦塞是一个机灵的美国小伙，来中国寻找发财机会；格格里亚是一个坚定的传教士护士，想运用鸦片的神奇力量，来消除病人的痛苦，一次偶然的邂逅，两人走到了一起，为了寻找一批失落的鸦片，两人和当地毒贩、黑社会展开了斗争，还有浪漫的爱情故事……
传说上海的鸦片大王费拉第死后，有一大笔鸦片被仆人吴中树偷走，下落不明。一年后，教会的伯恩斯和助手泰拉克小姐，为帮助受伤的士兵，决定找到这批鸦片，为士兵止痛，他们找来葛兰登韦西帮忙，然而韦西找到费拉第的情妇中国娃娃后，被假冒警察的歹徒梅健掳去，共被严刑逼问。韦西受挫后，原打算不管了，因和泰拉克小姐渐生情愫，决定继续帮她。透过中国娃娃帮忙，韦西找到吴中树，韦西解开吴中树所说的「最后凤凰」的谜，再询问过中国娃娃后，方知整件事和梅健偷走慈禧太后陵寝的珠宝有关，传说中的鸦片阴错阳差之际，意外落到韦西和泰拉克小姐的手里。

Freddie is an inept bank clerk with no future. His only hobby is collecting butterflies, which gives him a feeling of power and control that is otherwise totally missing from his life. He comes into a large sum of money and buys himself a country house. Still unable to make himself at ease socially, he starts to plan on acquiring a girlfriend - in the same manner as he collects butterflies. He prepares the cellar of the house to be a collecting jar and stalks his victim over several days.