Prince Chinkin, during an imperial hunting trip, is struck by an epileptic seizure: Marco Polo helps him, but risks being executed, since the disease is a disgrace that no one must know about. Meanwhile, the court has returned to Cambaluc and the Mongol general Bayan, who led Kublai Khan's army against the Chinese Song dynasty, announces victory over Southern China.

The prime minister of the Great Khan Achmet is skeptical about the friendship between the prince and Marco Polo and decides to send the latter away by sending him to Southern China. There Marco meets Yang Ku, the poet, and is invited into his house: here he meets his daughter Mei Li and Monica, the orphan of a Dalmatian merchant.

In 1281's Khanbaligh, capital of the empire, the Chinese are plotting against the Mongols. The Great Khan's minister, Achmet, is killed and the revolt begins, culminating in the killing of the rebels. Meanwhile, Marco Polo has made a career...