 Women and their virtue, in the Orient. Yannaia, a young dancer who is happy to have men desire her, comes to the attention of an old but powerful sheikh; his son also wants her. The leader of the minstrel troupe, a hunchback, loves Yannaia and opposes her sale to the sheikh. Meanwhile, Sumurun, the elder sheikh s beautiful concubine, has fallen in love with Nur al Din, a cloth merchant. The harem conspires to bring the lovers together. Desire, power, and jealousy are on a collision course.