During the Qingli era of the Northern Song, scholar Zhao Tingfang takes up a post at Anbian Fort in the northwest to uncover the truth behind the death of his father, border general Zhao Shouyi. There, he becomes entangled in a deeply rooted web of corruption and espionage spanning the Song and Xia dynasties. He ultimately grows from a pawn seeking revenge for his father into a pillar of the state who safeguards the frontier.
