Kwai Chang Caine is a Shaolin Monk who is on the run after he killed the Chinese Emperor's nephew after that coward killed his teacher in cold blood with a gun. He flees to America both to escape retaliation and to search for his brother in order to settle down in this new land. However, in his travels in the wild west, he can not help but continually run into trouble from desperados and other ruffians as they oppress the innocent, while bounty hunters pursue the price on his head. Against this, he has his skill of Kung-fu martial arts which proves to be devastatingly effective in this gun-dominated land.