Kam Kong plays an evil Manchurian General, who desires to crush the revolutionaries who have ties to the Shaolin temple.

Chen Kuan-tai is Iron, a naive young man who is unaware that his father is a leader of this underground movement.

An undercover operative named Ho Yeng, who conned his way into joining the rebellion, betrays Iron's father.

A witness to this heinous act warns Iron and he manages to escape the village and avoid capture from the Qing army.

The Abbot tells him that he must alleviate his inner pain, and return to the temple a wiser man cleansed of hatred.

The timing is perfect as the General's guard intrude upon the Shaolin temple to recruit martial artists to the Qing cause.

Like the hated betrayer of his father, Ho Yeng, Iron Monkey plans to join the Manchus and destroy their organization from within.

The General doesn't trust Iron Monkey and assigns him the task of hunting and killing suspected revolutionaries.

When the Manchus order Iron Monkey to crush the Shaolin Temple itself, he realizes he must finally make his move.

He confronts the entire chain of the Manchu hierarchy, starting with the traitor Ho Yeng, to the Captains, and finally the General himself.