The episode starts with narration from Nicky Shen. Nicky has been studying at a Shaolin Monastery for three years. Her "Shifu" (kung fu master) is Pei-Ling, and she is also her mentor. The training is intense Kung Fu study.

That night Nicky awakes to the sound of screams. When she's completely up, she sees that the whole Monastery is ablaze.

Unknown attackers are fighting with the other members of the Monastery. Nicky immediately starts to look for Pei-Ling, who is fighting attackers of her own.

Pei-Ling is fighting a formidable opponent - Zhilan. Zhilan steals a sword from a shrine in the room.

Nicky demonstrates some incredible Kung Fu and takes out some attackers on her way to her Shifu.

When she arrives at the area Pei-Ling is fighting; she witnesses Zhilan stab Pei-Ling in the heart. Nicky runs to her Shifu as Zhilan runs away.

Pei-Ling tells her to go after Zhilan. Nicky does, and a battle with Zhilan ensues. Zhilan slices a deep wound in Nicky's shoulder.

When Nicky tries to pick up the sword after disarming Zhilan, the sword burns her hands.

The battle ends with Nicky defeated, hanging off the edge of a cliff.

Some time passes, and Nicky returns home (after three years) to her family in America. Her father and sister were happy to see her, but her brother and mother were less than enthused.

Nicky learns that her sister, Althea, is getting married.

Her mom, Mei-Li, tells her that she is a disappointment. Nicky storms out of the house.

Nicky crashes her ex-boyfriend's place and tells him everything about what happened with Pei-Ling. He comforts her, but then his new girlfriend walks in, and everything becomes very awkward.

Nicky is out on a late-night walk and sees Pei-Ling in a vision, and she acts as a spirit guide and tells her that she and her family need to heal.

She is walking back to her parents' place and walks by their restaurant. She finds two attackers attacking her father, Jin.

He gets badly beaten, and later at the hospital, it is revealed that needed surgery but will be okay.

The next day, Nicky tries to go and reconcile with her brother Ryan at the Chinese community center where he works. He is not happy with her, and they talk over a game of ping pong.

He reveals to Nicky that he had to come out as gay to his parents without her, his only ally.

Eventually, they make up. At the community center, Nicky meets Henry, who is very knowledgeable about Chinese History.

This comes in handy for Nicky, and Henry becomes a close ally in figuring out the history behind the sword.

Back at the hospital, Mei-Li reveals that she took money from a loan shark, Kang. They have 72 hours to pay back $100,000 after interest, or the family would be in mortal danger.

Nicky and her siblings discuss how to solve their problems. Nicky wants to confront Kang directly, but her siblings convince her that that idea is awful.

Althea (her sister), Ryan, and Nicky all ask people in the neighborhood about Kang, but everyone is too scared to answer any.

Althea finds a woman who seems willing to talk but gets too scared because she has to protect her daughter.

Outside that woman's shop, Althea and Ryan get approached by two of Kang's Thugs. They have knives and guns on them.

Nicky is quick to react and runs outside the shop to beat up the two men. As she's using her kung fu training against the men, her siblings look on in awe.

Henry joins the fight right before one of the thugs can get a gunshot off. Together they take down both of Kang's men.

At their house, Althea and Ryan are gushing over Nicky's kung fu when Mei-Li walks in. Mei-Li is angry that they have been asking about Kang knowing it will put them in danger.

Nicky tells her mom that it is her fault, not theirs, that they are in danger in the first place.

Her mom leaves the room, heartbroken. Nicky approaches her mom in her room, and her mom says that she'll sell all of her jewelry to pay off the loan.

They have a beautiful heart-to-heart talk about why Nicky left and how Mei-Li's expectations were too much for her to handle.

After their talk, the woman who owns the shop is at the door and is ready to tell Nicky everything. Nancy and Nicky go to a police station, and Nancy makes a statement.

Evan, Nicky's ex-boyfriend, is revealed to be a police officer at the police station. He is in charge of the Kang case, it seems, and sits down with Nicky and her siblings to find evidence.

Althea hacks into a bank and finds Kang's accounts. They find proof of illegal trade and money laundering, among other illicit activities. They also find that down at the docks is where he makes most of his deals.

Ryan doesn't have faith in the police and decides that going down to the docks himself to find evidence is a good idea.

Once Nicky finds out that he went on his own, she runs to meet him. Kang, along with lots of unmarked black cars, arrives at the docks, and Ryan proceeds to take pictures of Kang making a seemingly illegal deal.

Eventually, Kang spots them, and they get shots fired towards them. They run, but two of Kang's men stop them. Nicky makes quick work of these men.

After confirming that Ryan is out of the way and safe, she confronts Kang himself. An epic battle ensues, and she uses her kung fu skills to take him down, but now before getting slashed in the same area on her shoulder that Zhilan cut.

Ryan and Nicky leave an unconscious Kang for the police to find.

Althea's wedding has arrived, and Mei-Li finally admits to Nicky that she is glad she is back. The wedding is beautiful.

Henry arrives at the wedding uninvited and has some crucial information about the sword.

The sword is a part of a set of eight weapons used by an ancient Chinese mage. If someone can obtain all eight weapons, they will wield unlimited power and be unstoppable.

As Zhilan's plan to obtain all eight weapons reveals itself, Nicky vows to stop Zhilan. Nicky wants to save her family and the world.