A modern youth Channing Zhang travels to the Three Kingdoms period. A forged letter coerces a scholar's mother to defect to Cao Cao's camp. He tests Lord Liu's benevolence, then takes the scholar's place, infiltrates Cao Cao's camp to rescue the elder. In Yecheng, he wins appreciation with his poetry and expertise, defuses suspicion, protects the elder's life, passing intelligence to Liu Bei, waiting to turn the tide.