The film starts with a young boy, presumably the Emperor Puyi, being asked what he would like for his birthday.

It then opens to another scene where the band is walking through giant gates into the row of Chinese soldiers, now wearing black ninja-like outfits.

This scene is mixed with each band member being led to a different part of the kingdom, encountering various practices believed to be Chinese traditions.

Matt Wachter encounters the butler whipping himself who then laughs maniacally; Tomo Miličević finds a dead woman lying on her bed, and someone proceeds to put a small black ball (A black pearl of wisdom,[3] which is a Chinese custom[4][5]) into her mouth; Shannon sees a grown man being breast-fed by his mother or wife; and Jared accidentally walks in on silver long nosed masks wearing occult ritually preparing to sacrifice three young women with their heads in a single pillory board.

It does not seem that this image has anything to do with the story, but may be a brief allusion to "The Kill" in which something similar appears midway through the video.

The MV was shot on location in the Forbidden City and the Emperor Qin palace.

[6] This limited edition vinyl is clear, and comes in a gatefold case This is also limited edition, but is red, and has the band members' signatures etched into the back "From Yesterday" reached number 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it Thirty Seconds to Mars' first number 1 on any Billboard chart.