As the son of the Sultan loves Aisha, the pampered daughter of the merchant, they both play tricks on each other to determine who is the most intelligent, a man or a woman.

In this Sufi tale, Nadia, a young Moroccan emigre returns from Paris to Fez to visit her dying father. At his funeral, she is overcome by the voice of mystic Kirana chanting the Koran. A powerful friendship develops between the two women as they decide to turn the father's palace into a shelter for Muslim women.