A series of gruesome murders resembling fairy tales, puzzle a hard-nosed detective. Inspector Wong (Lau Ching Wan) arrests a seemingly disturbed man who has confessed to a brutal murder reminiscent of a children's fable. After the supposed victim turns up alive and unharmed, the perpetrator is dismissed as a crank and let free. Days later, the victim turns up dead with his stomach cut open and stuffed with rocks. Wong realises he has let a dangerous killer go free and becomes obsessed with tracking him down whilst covering up his mistake. While Wong s family life is neglected, more and more grizzly and bloody murders are committed laying reference to Cinderella, The Red Shoes and Hansel & Gretel.