Chinese filmmaker He Ping weaves a thread of battle, comradeship and honor as he re-creates China's own 7th century "wild west," on the Silk Road in the high Asian plains. Japanese emissary Lai Xi (Kiichi Nakai) is sent to the Gobi Desert to execute a renegade soldier, Lt. Li (Wen Jiang). Their battle is interrupted, however, when they agree to delay their final personal fight until a caravan...