 The character for "lust" (色, "sè") can be read as "colour", while "caution" (戒, "jiè") can be read as "ring", therefore the title can also read as "colourful ring", an object that plays a pivotal role in the story.The two alternate readings of the title are interwoven into a cautionary tale of lust and love through the symbolic use of the ring.Hong Kong 1938

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, a shy, inexperienced university student, Wong Chia Chi, travels from Shanghai to Hong Kong and attends her first year at Lingnan University.