The young Cirina has grown up knowing only the life of caravanserai. Venetian artist Antonio Ballerei is making his way across the Gobi to reclaim a priceless Byzantine jewel. When the two of them meet, their passion for each other finds all too brief expression. When Tartar warriors take Cirina to the pleasure palace of the Kublai Khan, she is intoxicated by the splendour of her surroundings. Her taste for sensual indulgence awakened, she is overjoyed to find Antonio already there. Embarking on an erotically charged mission to recover the jewel together, they find adventure and danger are never far away.