The Agatean Empire - the Discworld's equivalent of China - has requested a Great Wizard. The wizards of Unseen University send Rincewind, reasoning that any wizard still alive after his career must be great by definition. Rincewind arrives in a land of political intrigue, revolutionary fervour, and the Silver Horde - a band of elderly barbarian heroes led by the legendary Cohen the Barbarian. A satire on imperialism, revolution, and the collision between cultures.