In northwest China, 48 BC (50 BC on screen in the English version), a security company under Han China's current government called The Silk Road Protection Squad is committed to stopping battles and promoting the idea of peace. Huo An (Jackie Chan), the captain, successfully averts a battle between the Indian people and Han dynasty. The group returns to their unnamed home city, where Huo An's gentle Uyghurs wife Xiuqing (Mika Wang) serves as a schoolteacher for orphans. However, the government uncovers evidence that someone in the group is corrupt, causing the entire group to be sentenced to construction work at Wild Geese Gate, a ruined fortress. Once they arrive, the group pays respects at the shrine of a fallen Chinese general. They originally were child-slaves of Han descent, but the general had later rescued them.