In exchange for board and lodging, lightning-fast samurai Mokunoshi is helping out in the everyday lives of a couple of local farmers. To keep in shape, he trains with bright farmer s son Ichisuke, while sister Yu furtively watches them. When the ronin Sawamura (played by director Tsukamoto) suddenly appears, asking Mokunoshi to go on a mission in Edo, and at the same time a bunch of bandits are lurking on the edge of the village, the peaceful existence of the three comes under threat.