Lisbon, 1898: philandering surgeon Antonio Maria discovers his father is dying of syphilis, scourge of both rich and poor. Desperate to find a cure, he sets sail for Peking. But Antonio encounters the alluring Fumi, and finds a woman he cannot leave behind. As he wrestles with his disbelief in irrational Chinese views about illness, and helplessly falls into an erotic obsession with Fumi, violence breaks out across China. Antonio must decide whether to flee or stay in China and discover for himself if the cure he has been chasing is merely a myth.