"Escorts" are warriors paid to eliminate targets wanted by the government. Dao Ma is a traveling warrior attempting to repay the debt he owes to a man named Mo, who cared for Dao Ma and his child, Xiao Qi. However, on the way back to Mo's town, they encounter a victim of the "rakshasa"—man-eating demons. Amidst the rise of rakshasa victims, bloodshed, slavery, and ruthless warriors, Dao Ma becomes entangled in the terror sweeping through the country during the final years of the Sui dynasty.