Kublai Khan is the Tartar emperor who rules over a massive, expanding Mongol Empire. He harbors deep insecurities about his acquisitions, fearing that his vast conquests are meaningless because he does not truly understand the lands or people he governs. To ease this melancholy, he searches for philosophical wisdom rather than mere statistics from his territories. He attempts to comprehend the principles of ruling by studying maps and playing chess.

Marco Polo is a Venetian merchant and explorer who travels across Asia collecting impressions of 55 different cities. Unlike other envoys who bring dry military or economic reports, he provides vivid, thematic descriptions that blend reality with fantastical elements. He possesses a restless nature and views his travels as a way to understand the various alternative lives he might have lived. His accounts of the empire secretly serve as an ongoing reflection on his native Venice.