The film is a mix of the wuxia and spaghetti western genres and is the first of director He Ping's thematic trilogy set in the west in China, followed by Sun Valley and Warriors of Heaven and Earth.

[1] A quiet teenage boy about sixteen to seventeen, Hai Ge (Gao Wei), ventures to Western China at the edge of the Gobi Desert to claim his bride, betrothed to him since birth.

Hai Ge manages to find young Hao Mei (Zhang Manna), his betrothed, and her father, who is lame in one leg and who runs a restaurant in the town.

On the fateful day Lethal Swordsman and his gang of bandits ride to Double Flag Town in the heat of noon.

Heading for a showdown, the chief slays everyone in his way attempting to block his revenge mission, including Hao Mei's father.