It's Christmas Eve in Naples. Little Rocco feels increasingly jealous due to the imminent birth of a baby brother. Three bungling devils sent by Satan promise him that if he'll stop Jesus from being born—entering the Nativity scene his father built by the magic word "opopomoz" and altering the past—his brother won't be born either.

Geppetto the carpenter carves the object of his hidden desires out of a log: a puppet that will keep him company and will be like a son to him. He will call him Pinocchio. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that the puppet moves, as if by magic, and is gifted with a life on its own.

In 1913, laconic sea captain Corto Maltese, adrift in the Pacific, gets rescued by his bandit friend Rasputin who's taking two rich shipwrecked teens to an island where his boss the Monk will hold them for ransom. WWI complicates things.

At the end of 1918 while civil war is raging on in Russia, antagonism is slowly spreading to the East, between the Oral mountains and Shanghai. Stuck between a desire to save what's left of the great Imperial Russia, and starting from a clean slate, old generals, secret organizations, and mercenaries attracted by gold, struggle to take advantage of the events. As Corto Maltese returns to Shanghai, he barely gets time to cross paths with his old friend/nemesis Rasputin, and escape a murder attempt before being contacted by members of a Chinese secret organization called "The Red Lanterns". In the heart of violent Manchurian horizons, Corto and Rasputin launch themselves into a fabulous treasure hunt, following the tracks of the mysterious armor-plated train of Kolchak. A steel monster spiked with canons and machine guns, this trains protects the counter-revolutionaries gold...

Compilation of three stories about laconic adventurer Corto Maltese set in 1918. He infiltrates a fort where young prince Saud is being held, tries to stop a war between two African tribes and investigate the secretive "Leopard-Men".

Compilation of three stories about laconic adventurer Corto Maltese set in 1918. He infiltrates a fort where young prince Saud is being held, tries to stop a war between two African tribes and investigate the secretive "Leopard-Men".

Compilation of three stories about laconic adventurer Corto Maltese set in 1918. He infiltrates a fort where young prince Saud is being held, tries to stop a war between two African tribes and investigate the secretive "Leopard-Men".