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. Later, in search of a woman who left China two years earlier, Ah Sahm crosses paths with Mai Ling and Li Yong, followers of the rival tong leader Long Zii, who is trying to avoid an opium war with the Hop Wei, a war that Walter Buckley, deputy to San Francisco Mayor Samuel Blake, actively promotes. Meanwhile, after two Chinese laborers are killed by white thugs, police sergeant "Big Bill" O'Hara is tasked with creating a Chinatown squad. Enlisting southern-born cop Richard Henry Lee, Bill soon finds that the hostility between the Chinese and white dock workers, whose unofficial leader is Irish tough Dylan Leary, is unlikely to end anytime soon.

[Cinemax] HD. 'Enter the Dragon.' (Season 2) Enemies become allies when chaos erupts in Chinatown.

Struggling under the pressure of an increased police presence, the Hop Wei search for a new way to survive. Meanwhile, as Leary grows frustrated with his limitations on the city council, the Long Zii gain powerful new connections.

While taking menacing steps to secure Nellie's land, Strickland instills confidence in Leary's political abilities. Then, as the Hop Wei increase bill production, tensions rise between Young Jim and Ah Sahm.

Chao and Lee band together after an unexpected tossup threatens their lives. Meanwhile, the Hop Wei navigate a tense deal with German traders as Leary and Strickland ruffle feathers in the political world.

Ah Sahm makes a bold sacrifice to protect Yan Mi, Mai Ling reckons with the consequences of her actions, and Leary reaches his breaking point after a shocking blow from Strickland.