Young and Dangerous tells the story of Chan Ho Nam (Ekin Cheng), "Chicken" Chiu (Jordan Chan), Tai Tin Yee (Michael Tse), Pao Pan (Jerry Lam) and his brother Chow Pan (Jason Chu) during their inclusion into the "Hung Hing" Society. The focus is on internal squabbling within the triad, spearheaded by "Ugly Kwan" (Francis Ng).
Based on a popular comic book series named "Teddy Boy", the film contributed a lot to the public image of triads and was condemned by certain quarters as glorifying secret triad societies. However, it was immensely popular in Hong Kong and spun a long list of sequels and spin-offs.