The novel tells of the fate and adventures of four outstanding representatives of their cultures, who by chance found themselves as slaves in a Turkish galley. Safonka Ivanov is a Russian Cossack, captured in the summer of 1604 by a Nogai murza and sold into slavery in Azov. Hua To is a Chinese monk from the Shaolin monastery, a member of the Bai Lianjiao uprising group, sent to Europe to purchase weapons. An African leader, Mbenngu—a great hero who was ahead of his time and found no understanding among his own people. A genius of military affairs, the future ruler of the world, the traitor of his people—Alexander.
Power corrupts a person, and absolute power corrupts him absolutely.