Adapted from Gu Long's novel of same title, "A shooting star burns but briefly, but while it burns what other star in the heavens is as bright, as brilliant.? When a shooting star appears, not even the stars in the enduring constellations can match its light. The life of a butterfly is delicate, even more fragile than flowers, but alas it lives only in the spring. It is beauty, it is freedom, it is flight.

Based on a popular swordplay novel, this colorful and complex saga (whose Chinese title literally translates into the poetic Meteor, Butterfly, Sword) has enough conspiracies, stratagems, and sword fights to fascinate even novice kung-fu cinema viewers. The cast of Shaw Brothers' leading swordsmen and swordswomen are masterfully staged by Yuen Cheung-yan, the brother of Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. The result is both a great action movie and an exceptional dramatic film.

A loyalist attempts to keep the King's empire from being overthrown by a revolutionary group.