Hou-ming, city of ghosts, central China, 1304 - In a vast graveyard created by Mongol slaughter, three children meet amidst the decaying ruins and forge a friendship that will determine their destinies. As the years pass they separate, finding different paths in life. Yun Shu, cruelly rejected by her father for refusing to bind her feet, seeks solace as a Daoist nun. Hsiung, enslaved by the Mongols when just a boy, becomes a ruthless rebel warlord determined to drive the invaders from his native land. Teng, an artist and scholar, last son of a once noble family ruined by the new Mongol dynasty, risks his life to preserve the culture he reveres. For the three friends to come together, they must endure war, treachery greed and the casual abuse of power. To win honour and unexpected love they must overcome dangerous enemies and conflicts in the depths of their hearts. Each of them, through clouds of troubles, must earn the Mandate of Heaven.