Michel Strogoff, the Tsar's courier, was sent on a secret mission to Irkutsk to inform the Tsar's brother of the imminent arrival of the Tartars. He will have to travel, under the false identity of Nicolas Korpanoff, horse trader, more than 5,000 km pursued by Ivan Ogareff, a traitor in the pay of the Tartars. He meets Nadia who is trying to go to Irkutsk to find her father - While crossing his native village, Michel Strogoff crosses paths with his mother who, despite herself, reveals her true identity. Captured, Michel Strogoff is condemned to have his eyes burnt with a hot iron.