Second half of the 19th century. At the height of the next “opium” war, twenty-six-year-old General Nikolai Ignatiev was sent to Beijing - a city of wonders, where modern trends and hoary antiquity, technological progress and belief in magic are mixed. The official purpose of the visit is to ratify treaties that will allow us to draw a clear line on the Russian-Chinese border and establish trade ties, but the main task of the young diplomat is to wrest China from the influence of the West and make it an ally of Russia for decades to come. Alas, the thoughts of the Emperor of the Celestial Empire are entirely dominated by the bloodthirsty Ci Xi's favorite, and he does not care about politics, and the Chinese nobles do not see the benefits of the alliance. To convince them, you need to master the ancient game of words, and meanwhile England and France are already ready to overthrow the emperor, and there is less and less time left for games.