During a high-speed motorboat chase, local police officer Wong Tai Mui is whisked into a waterspout (water tornado) containing a time portal. Tai Mui is whisked back to 19th century Hong Kong, then under Qing rule. She encounters a Cantonese pirate, Cheng Yat, his wife, Shek Giu, and his adopted son, Cheung Po Tsai.
Puzzled by her mysterious origins, the pirates remain wary and hesitant to trust Tai Mui. Armed with the knowledge of the future, she saves them from a deadly naval battle against the Qing naval fleet captained by Prince Man Ho,
At Beijing’s Imperial Palace, Consorts Yim and Shun manipulate Prince Man Ho to appoint them to positions of greater power. Jaded from politics and family feuding, Man Ho leaves the palace behind, along with his ambitions of claiming the crown.
During the solar eclipse, yet another waterspout forms over the Canton Sea. Po Tsai helps Tai Mui access the time portal, allowing her to return to the 21st century. But in doing so, he himself falls in, joining Tai Mui on her journey back to the future.
