Ali and Nino plot
"While the world was falling apart, they were falling in love."
Ali Khan and Nino Kipiani live in Baku, the oil-rich capital of Azerbaijan, which at the beginning of the twentieth century is a melting pot of cultures. Ali is Muslim, with a passion for the desert. Nino is a Christian Georgian girl with refined European manners. The two have been lovers since childhood and Ali is determined to marry her despite their cultural differences. But their differing religious views and the consent of their parents is not the only thing they have to overcome. World War I breaks out and Baku's oil becomes a spearhead for Russian power.