The film covers much of Qin Shi Huang's career, recalling his early experiences as a hostage and foreshadowing his dominance over China. It depicts him essentially as an idealist seeking to impose a peace or unity on the world despite various betrayals and losses. Its story consists of three main incidents: the attempt by Jing Ke to assassinate Ying Zheng in 227 BCE; the (fictitious) rumour of a Lü Buwei 's having sired the latter before transferring his concubine to become the Queen Dowager Zhao ; and the story of an Lao Ai having sired children by the Queen Dowager herself. The first incident is the climax (narrative) of the film, with earlier scenes foreshadowing it; the other two incidents occur between the fictional genesis and historical manifestation of the first.