Late at night, in an empty bar in the present day (the mid-1990s), an old man enters and waits for service. Not long after, a group of thugs arrives and attempts to rob the till. The old man defeats them easily, one by one, with hand-to-hand combat. Amazed, the bartender asks how he learned to fight. The old man replies, "It was long ago..." and the scene shifts into memory.
The story flashes back to Christopher Dubois, a pickpocket in his mid-twenties, living in 1925 New York City. Orphaned as a child, he looks after many young orphans by pulling off short cons and stealing to keep them cared for. After pulling off a large heist from a group of gangsters, Dubois and the children are discovered. He fights off the gangsters, but the clash with crime draws the attention of the police.
Forced to flee, he escapes by stowing away on a boat. His escape is short-lived, however, as he is discovered and sold into the world of gun smugglers and pirates, where he is put to hard labor. When the pirate crew decides he is no longer useful, a mercenary Englishman enters the scene and changes the course of his life: Lord Edgar Dobbs. The two men save each other’s lives, but Dobbs deceives him and ultimately ships him off to a harsh fate on a Siam island, where the young fighter is trained in Muay Thai.
Six months pass, and Dobbs, along with his partner, Harry Smythe, discovers the now-skilled boxer in a Muay Thai match. Seeing potential and purpose, Dobbs helps him buy his freedom so that he can represent the United States in a Kumite-like tournament called the Ghang-gheng, staged in the Lost City of Tibet. The competition gathers fighters from around the world—Germany, the Soviet Union, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Korea, Siam, Greece, France, China, Japan, Okinawa, Africa, and Mongolia—each hoping to claim the Golden Dragon, a statue of immense value.
Joining the journey are American reporter Carrie Newton and heavyweight boxing champion Maxie Devine, who lend their support and add their own perspectives to the perilous quest. As the rounds proceed, the fighter from the West rises through the brackets and faces a series of formidable opponents, culminating in a decisive bout against Khan, the Mongolian fighter, to seize victory and the honor that accompanies it.
Dubois earns a medal and is hailed as the greatest fighter, but he refuses to claim the Golden Dragon. Instead, he trades it to secure the lives of Dobbs and his comrade Harry, who had been sentenced to death for previously conspiring to steal the Dragon. Back in the bar, he explains that his return to New York was fueled by a wish to help the children on the streets. Devine’s influence helped shape many other stellar fighters, while Dobbs and Smythe eventually settled into life far from the ring—running a trading post deep in the Amazon. In the closing moment, a book is shown being closed, revealing its title and author: The Quest by Carrie Newton.
