In the 3rd Century BC (pre-unified China), Ying Zheng, heir to the Kingdom of Qin, seeks to dominate the remaining six Chinese kingdoms. Ying sends his concubine Zhao to the Han Kingdom as a spy to enlist an assassin to attempt to assassinate Yan, intending to use that as an excuse to start a war against Yan, but as Ying’s cruelty mounts, she finds her loyalty faltering. Zhao persuades Jing Ke to perform the assassination which fails, but falls in love with him.