The year is 1844. A young lord rapes and kills with impunity by virtue of his political connections. Though the era of the Samurai is fading, an honest government official covertly enlists thirteen swordsmen to assassinate this sadistic lord before he can seize more power. With the clock ticking, the assassins lay a deadly trap for the lord and his army of bodyguards, culminating in one of the bloodiest, muddiest sword fights ever put to film.