Set in the 18th century Qing dynasty, the film follows the intertwined lives of two women, a passionate female warrior and a young female aristocrat, who fight against their fates to find a prized sword, and of the two men whose love is denied to them: a legendary warrior and a bandit king.

When Taiwanese director Ang Lee left Hollywood to uncharacteristically make a wuxia film in China, he ended up with a Best Foreign Film Oscar®. In so doing, he introduced the thrills of the genre to unfamiliar audiences, made a superstar of Zhang Ziy, and crafted a lovely and moving romance as well.