Three people with their karma entwined meet in three different periods of Chinese history: Ming Dynasty China, early Republican China, and modern-day Taiwan.

This 3-parter uses the same 3 leads in each of its parts. Through reincarnation, 3 people meet in 3 different periods of Chinese history. Director King Hu opens with a Ming Dynasty tale of renegade swordsmen battling secret police. Lee Hsing follows with a melodrama about a wealthy man in love with an opera singer in the early 20th century. Pai Ching-Jui closes with the story of a dancer and a shaman in the 1980s.