At 16 years of age, Marco Polo impetuously decides to join his father and uncle on a journey that will take him from his native Venice to the court of Kublai Khan. Nephew of Genghis Khan, Kublai has inherited an empire that extends from Russia to the Pacific Ocean. After traversing inhospitable deserts and scaling the slopes of the Himalayas, the young Marco Polo has become a man of the world by the time he arrives at the court of the Great Khan.