The time is roughly 355 BC, in the middle of China’s “Warring States” period. Military strategists are a precious commodity and are often free agents – or, just as often, kidnapped for their expertise. That’s what happens with Sun Bin (Sun Honglei), the greatest student of the legendary Gui Guzi – he is first recruited by the Wei army to help them take a border city, and after that plan is successful, the daughter of the Qi general he defeated (Jiang Wu) has him kidnapped. That’s not so bad, though – Tian Xi (Jing Tian) is young, beautiful, and spirited, though initially not quite so taken with Sun Bin as he is with her.

However, this skirmish has made the other kingdoms nervous, and they come together to make peace. This reunites Bin with the general of Wei’s army, Pang Juan (Francis Ng). Juan is Gui Guzi’s other student and Bin’s sworn brother; his sister Fei (Kim Hee-seon) is the princess of Wei. Of course, there’s more going on than may first appear, and despite being a savant in the area of military strategy, Bin will likely be hurt by his nature as a trusting pacifist.