In the age of European expansion, Portuguese noblewoman Leonor de Palmela is on her way to India, taken by her abusive husband. After a violent storm, an expedition is sent to a strange land to look for food and water, an expedition that ends violently and sees the survivors, Leonor included, brought before the mysterious ruler of the faraway country of Zand. When Leonor is taken hostage in the palace, she discovers that there is more to the Sultan than meets the eye and learns about his true feelings for her.