 In 1898, Emperor Guang Su announces reforms to bring China into a more modern world. Empress Dowager Ci Xi opposes the changes because they reduce her power; she rallies support with calls to honor old ways and with xenophobia. A scholar and reformist leader, Tan Sitong, becomes the emperor s military advisor, and he recruits an army of supporters, including martial arts hero Wang Wu. The empress dowager manages to have the emperor confined and Tan jailed; Wang Wu and his men must free Tan. Can the old master get the job done? Do the reforms have a chance?