Warrior

San Francisco, 1878. Ah Sahm, a newly arrived Chinese immigrant with serious fighting skills, is introduced to Chinatown’s most ruthless tong, the Hop Wei, by Chao, a fixer. After impressing Young Jun, son of tong leader Father Jun, Ah Sahm is branded and taken to a brothel, where he befriends Ah Toy, a courtesan with connections.

Intercepting a shipment of opium at the docks, Young Jun, with Ah Sahm and his Hop Wei lieutenant Bolo in tow, decides to send a message to Long Zii. Big Bill and Lee investigate a grisly murder scene in an alley next to an Irish bar, The Banshee. Penny Blake, the young wife of San Francisco’s mayor, finds herself in a bind while visiting the wharf with her Chinese manservant, Jacob. Ah Sahm pays a steep price for playing the hero. The Long Zii clean up a mess, and brace for more bloodshed.

Leary pressures gentleman industrialist Byron Mercer, who is Penny’s father, to hire his men for a cable-car track job — despite the fact that Mayor Blake hasn’t yet awarded Mercer the contract. Accused of assault and perhaps worse, Ah Sahm gets a cold shoulder from the Hop Wei, with his fate in the hands of an unexpected ally. Buckley urges Mai Ling to eschew restraint and start a war with the Hop Wei.

Big Bill finds himself compromised by his gambling excesses, but discovers a possible solution after an opium-den raid. Penny reveals the circumstances that prompted her to marry Mayor Blake, who’s determined to show voters he won’t tolerate San Francisco’s “Yellow Peril.” After meeting with leaders of the Fung Hai tong, Mai Ling offers Ah Sahm a way out of a protracted — and bloody — tong war.

Transporting precious cargo via stagecoach through the Sierra Nevada, Ah Sahm and Young Jun are forced to spend the night with three strangers at a frontier saloon in the middle of nowhere. The detour turns perilous when Harlan French, a notorious outlaw, shows up with his henchmen, looking for a lucrative payday.

Tensions escalate between the Hop Wei and Long Zii after an assassination attempt during a boisterous Chinatown parade. Big Bill sets out to pay his debt to Jack Damon, leaving Lee to keep watch over Lucy and the kids. Mayor Blake and Deputy Mayor Buckley get a mandate from Robert Crestwood, a senator with eyes on the White House.

Back with the Hop Wei, Ah Sahm spends his nights at the Barbary Coast fight pit, confronting a new anti-Chinese group, Teddy’s Boys. While Ah Toy accuses him of just looking for another fight, an empowered Mai Ling worries about her brother’s next steps. Meanwhile, Bill finds it hard to break out of his role as enforcer for Zing; Penny is determined to continue running Mercer Steel, much to Blake’s dismay; and Chao offers Ah Sahm some advice for his future with Young Jun.

Ah Sahm and Young Jun search for a discreet place to hide their product after striking a deal with a new opium supplier. As Lee becomes increasingly dependent on laudanum, he and Bill continue to investigate the swordsman murders. Mai Ling sends Li Yong and Zing to deliver a message to a rival tong. Penny asks for Ah Sahm’s help in protecting her factory. Sophie continues to pique Leary’s interest. Ah Toy receives a visit from Nellie Davenport, a wealthy widow committed to ending the exploitation of Chinese women.

With their new enterprise going well, Young Jun shares his worries with Ah Sahm about the new men Father Jun has brought over from China, and later, the partners are impressed by Hong, an enthusiastic recruit with a secret. Meanwhile, Chao goes to Mai Ling for help keeping Zing away from his business, Sophie grows closer to Leary, Nellie’s politics raise questions from her peers, and things take a deadly turn at Bill’s home.

As the police prepare for retribution, Chao comes to Bill with a mutually beneficial proposal. A sympathetic Sophie offers Leary a new plan. Ah Sahm and Penny have a moment when he confides his plans for the future. Buckley urges Blake to take a stand against the Chinese, Lee seeks to ease his pain, Mai Ling invests in a legitimate business, and Nellie urges Ah Toy to imagine a different kind of life for her sex workers.

A guilty Mai Ling tries to make things right with Ah Sahm, who’s more intent than ever on seeking revenge. Penny finds her business in trouble and learns that Ah Sahm has been using her. Leary gets a warning and offers one of his own. Ah Toy pays an emotional visit to Nellie’s Sonoma winery. Bill and Chao put their plot against the Fung Hai into action.

Ah Sahm, Young Jun, and Hong travel with Vega to Rooker’s Mill, a U.S.-Mexico border town owned by Elijah Rooker, the wealthy host of a lucrative fight tournament that Ah Sahm is determined to win. As he learns more about Vega, Ah Sahm draws the attention of another fighter, Dolph, and later, Rooker himself.

Struggling under the pressure of an increased police presence, the Hop Wei search for a new, lucrative way to survive.

As Ah Sahm and Young Jun struggle to produce authentic bills, they get valuable printing advice from an unexpected source.

While taking menacing steps to secure Nellie's land, Strickland instills confidence in Leary's political abilities.

Shaken by the loss of Nellie's land, Ah Toy grapples with a difficult choice. Ah Sahm and Yan Mi think on their toes during a police raid.

Ah Sahm and Hong race against time to free a captured Young Jun before he's sent back to China. Meanwhile, an imprisoned Mai Ling hits rock bottom.

Chao and Lee band together after an unexpected tossup threatens their lives. Meanwhile, the Hop Wei navigate a tense deal with German traders.