Kashgar, 1268. Bahram of Nishapur, merchant, scholar and debtor, has sunk his last silver into a bale of rhubarb root, which sells for its weight in pepper in Samarkand. The caravan leaves in one hour, and he still needs a camel that will stand, water and the official's seal. Then a breathless apprentice bursts in, begging him to come to her dying master's side. A witty Silk Road epic of silver-tongued haggling and perilous passes.