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 Karina 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.

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.