Kwai Chang Caine is a Shaolin monk who is on the run after he killed the Chinese Emperor's nephew. The nephew had killed Caine's teacher in cold blood with a gun, like a coward. Caine flees to America both to escape retaliation and to search for his brother in order to settle down in this new land. However, he can not help but continually run into trouble from gunfighters and others as they oppress the innocent, while bounty hunters pursue the price on his head. Against this, he has his Kung-fu martial arts skill which proves to be devastatingly effective in this gun-dominated land.