Nomadic cavalry sweep across the land, while the Song army, lacking warhorses, can only take a beating. Yang Zuo, an official of the Three Finance Commissions, travels to Chengdu to buy fine horses from the Tibetans and Qiang, but encounters obstacle after obstacle. Yang Zuo meets Sanmei, a pretty and fiery teahouse proprietress. The two exchange meaningful glances, break free of their constraints, and come together. When Yang Zuo goes to Yunnan in search of horses, Sanmei gives away all her family’s possessions and follows him. Together, they lead a small band through deep mountain valleys thick with miasma, enduring countless attacks by ghost tribes and narrowly escaping death time and again, until at last they find the legendary Tengchong steeds. Yang Zuo returns to the capital bearing a secret letter from the emperor of the Dali Kingdom, only to be suppressed by powerful chancellor Lü Yijian and the rising capitalist giant, the Xichuan Silk and Medicine Guild. Then Yang Zuo and Sanmei are struck by disaster, as they face total ruin…
