Thirteenth-century China. In the streets of Cambaluc, seat of the great Mongol Lord, Kublai Khan, sinister events are unfolding. Members of the Guild of Pourers, the city cleaners, are being picked off one by one in a series of gutwrenching murders. What is the link between these deaths and the reappearance of the Water Lily sect, a secret society dedicated to the service of the Plague Lord, Wen Yi Kwei?

With rumours of demonic forces at work, Kublai Khan summons his trusted advisor and friend, the Venetian Marco Polo, to discover the truth. But will he be able to stem the tide of evil before it is too late? And will the Water Lily sect succeed in unleashing the full fury of Wen Yi Kwei, the great baron of Hell... ?