hsiao hai (ting hwa chung) is a kung fu servant of the big boss (lung fei). bullied and abused he finds himself taken under the wing of the boss when he stops some troublemakers. rising in status; hsiao hai begins to learn the boss dreaded chicken fist. hsiao falls in love with a girl shao hua who works at a food stall. shao hua and her father are mantis fist experts and inform hsiao that his boss is not the upstanding man he appears to be