Inside a shabby Vladivostok hotel, the bodies of a beautiful high-class prostitute from a Macau casino and a well-dressed English businessman are found. Two Interpol agents, RICHARDS (mid 40s) and MEER (early 30s) investigate the crime scene. While trying to figure out what happened, they are caught by surprise by two men posing as policemen. They capture one, but he takes poison and expires. They wound the other, but he gets away.
Much to the distress of Richards, who must deal with demons of past assignments in Macau, two pieces of evidence gathered in Vladivostok lead him and Meer to Hong Kong, where they join up with a fellow associate and former lover of Richards named LU LI (early 40s) to solve the case.
The three soon discover the plot is being masterminded by an old Chinese Nationalist Army Officer who served under General Chiang Kai-shek. The old officer seeks revenge for the defeat of the Nationalists by starting a war between Japan, Communist China, and South Korea over the recently-discovered oil reserves in the China Sea.
Those engaged by the old officer to produce his desired outcome have agendas of their own. A war over the disputed oil fields would guarantee indefinitely their Middle Eastern oil and gas contracts to the Asia Pacific nations. War in the region would also release European banks from the control of U.S. agencies and once again allow criminals to launder vast sums of cash through private bank accounts. Also, destruction of existing infrastructure in the region would ensure decades of reconstruction contracts.
The old man’s plot and the agendas of those engaged by him begin to fall apart when Inspector Richards’ team investigates suspects in Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The unanticipated interference by Richards and his team forces the old officer to engage an elusive female assassin named FERMINA (30s) to disposes of anyone who fails him, including his own relatives. She is successful in all but the last of her hits which leads to her demise.
The plot’s success eventually lies with a young North Korean born software genius who has been hired by the old officer to hack into the military computers in the region. His assignment is to download a virtual reality war game so realistic that each nation will think they are being attacked by the other.
Some last minute action by Richards and his team delivers the Asia Pacific region from total devastation. Richards and his team discover the hacker in time and stop him. Fermina finds the last of her targets and assassinates them but dies unexpectedly during the encounter. Lu Li returns to Hong Kong expecting her and Richards will once again be lovers. Richards and Meer return to Interpol Headquarters and close off The Macau File.
