故事背景设定在上海滩的三十年代。一个聪明机智的美国小伙，戈登（西恩·潘 Sean Penn 饰），远渡重洋来到中国，寻找能够发财的机会。与此同时，格格里亚（麦当娜 Madonna 饰）则是一个坚定的传教士护士，她怀揣着希望通过鸦片的神奇力量来缓解病人的痛苦。两人的命运在一次偶然的相遇中交汇，从而走到了一起。他们的目标是寻找一批失踪的鸦…
Faced with the prospect of a dim future in his impoverished village, young Shankar bids farewell to his family in rural Bengal and makes a journey to the fabled "Mountain Of The Moon" in search of gold and diamond mines.
