Set in the Philippines, Takashi Miike’s “The Guys from Paradise” weaves together the stories of several real-life criminal cases. Young up-and-coming salary man Kohei Hayakawa is sent to Paradise prison on false drug charges, and assumes his lawyers will clear up this misunderstanding fairly quickly. However, he soon comes to the realization that his innocence means less than how much bribe money he’s able to come up with for his release. It becomes apparent that Kohei is going to have to get to know his fellow inmates a little better, as he’s obviously in this situation for the long haul; but meeting a female inmate from a nearby jail certainly makes his transition to the criminal life a little easier to take.
Dario is a disgruntled ex-cop who gets discharged from his job two years ago when he obeys the order of his superior, Superintendent Villa to take the syndicate master, Johnny Estrella to a safe-house instead on the police station. Superintendent Villa is under orders of Johnny. The crook escapes. Now Dario lives as an informal security man in a bar he frequented during his officer days. Marian is a young novice who is taking month long break from the convent. She finds out that her older sister Mabel has been taken by the people of Johnny and Sonny Estrella powerful leaders of a syndicate operating illegal drug business and white slavery in Alupihan Island.
Her name is Angela and she’s a woman of the world. Daring and defiant, she works as a stripper in a night club to support her family. Her work, she thinks, has made her indiffirent to love. But the day comes when she meets the guy who makes her frigid heart beat again.
After spending a couple of years behind bars, Lando wins back his freedom. But his prison record has incapacitated him from landing a job. Fortunately, a friend of his knows someone who needs a driver and a bodyguard desperately. But that someone turns out to be Mariel, the very woman whom Lando has had an encounter with. Desperate for a job, Lando agrees to work for Mariel despite his negative impression of her. As expected, their working relationship is as stormy as it can get. But love works in mysterious ways - even the rowdiest of enemies can become more than friends.
Ronnie played a disillusioned former military officer, who took the job of a school security chief to investigate the mysterious death of his best friend. It turned out not to be so mysterious after all, because the school was littered with students who looked and behaved like criminals. Apparently, no one cared about them anymore and the school had been allowed to deteriorate but Ronnie was not willing to give up that easily.