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?