The Venetian trader Marco Polo, who has…

The Venetian trader Marco Polo, who has become a favorite of Kublai Khan, has spent seventeen years roaming through China in the service of the Mongol emperor.

He, and more particularly, his uncles, increasingly desire to return home, but have, for years, been unable to obtain Kublai’s consent until 1292 when he finally—reluctantly—permits them to return to Venice on a diplomatic mission.