The life of the 13th-century Venetian explorer who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.
When Luo Xin'gang a new manager arrives in an ailing silk-printing plant, he maintains that the remedy for the loss in profits is to go back to producing handmade silk handkerchiefs for export -- but the conservative authorities resist any change at all. In the background lurks the shadows of the black market and other forms of graft.
