The story of Modu Chanyu, the founder of the Xiongnu Empire. Sent off as a hostage to a neighboring kingdom as a child his father wants him dead so dispatches an army to attack that kingdom with the hope that they will kill Modu so that his youngest son, by another mother, will succeed him. Modu escapes with the help of a young girl, JiuJiu, and the story of the founding of a unified Mongolian empire begins.