Lee Chung is a Prince of Joseon, but he has been taken hostage to the Qing Dynasty. He enjoys boozing, womanizing and gambling. He is also an excellent swordsman. His older brother Lee Young will succeed to the throne and brings Lee Chung to Joseon. He returns after more than 10 years. Soon, Lee Chung faces monsters that run rampant in the night. Ancient Korea, 17th century. While the paranoid King Lee Jo of Joseon (Kim Eui-sung), vassal of the Qing dynasty, feels surrounded by conspirators and rebels, a dark evil emerges from the bowels of a merchant ship and the exiled Prince Lee Cheung (Hyun Bin) returns to the royal court, ignoring that he will have to lead the few capable of defeating the ambitious humans and the bloody monsters who threaten to destroy the kingdom.