At a secluded lakeside resort, biologist Zhang Cheng comes to find his ex-wife, Yan Tong, and is astonished to see her looking youthful again. He learns that she has been using a secret beauty product and discovers that strange disappearances of guests frequently occur at the hotel.

Judge Dee investigates a conspiracy involving a dangerous elixir and supernatural chaos, ultimately exposing a rebel general who used the elixir as a pretext for plotting a military coup against the Empress Wu Zetian.