In 1918, a young and inexperienced Mongol herdsman and trapper is defrauded of a precious fox fur by a European capitalist fur trader who is based in the United States. His expulsion from the trading post follows a battle with the trader who had taken advantage of him. He then flees to the hills. In 1920, he joins the Soviet partisans and aids them in their fight against the invading British troops on behalf of the Soviet Union. When the British attempt to seize cattle from the herdsmen at the same time that the commandant meets with a reborn Grand Lama, he is kidnapped by the British and taken to the British prison camp. As a result of the trapper's death, the army discovers an amulet, which indicates that he is a direct descendent of Genghis Khan. He is still alive when the army discovers him, and it decides to restore his health and use him as the leader of a puppet regime. Consequently, the trapper is elevated to a position of importance after being appointed as the puppet dictator. A furious explosion of rage causes the "puppet" to turn against his masters by the end of the play.