Drawn in by the potential riches to be found - but most inspired by the intrigue of the historical mystery - Drake embarks on a quest to find the lost fleet. He soon realizes that Marco Polo was hiding a much bigger secret - he had gone on a secret expedition on behalf of the emperor to find the mythical kingdom of Shambhala (otherwise known as Shangri-La) and to recover the legendary Cintamani Stone, the "wish-fulfilling jewel" of Buddhist mythology.