An honorable warrior (Jet Li) and his young son wander China, defending those who cannot fight for themselves. The warrior finds out about a secret map tattooed on the backs of five boys that shows the location of a treasure that a sect of Shaolin monks hopes to use to reestablish their temple. The pair vows to protect the map (and the five boys) from a deformed and seemingly invincible villain as well as a mother-daughter pair of thieves.