Princess Turandot, a fascinating but cruel woman, decides to marry the man who will answer her three riddles.Those who fail are sent to the executioner's block. Among the suitors is Calaf, a fallen prince who, to everybody's surprise, succeeds in solving Turandot's riddles.Calaf realizes that Turandot is doing everything she can to avoid the marriage, and promises to release her from her promise if she succeeds in finding out his real name is just one day...Turandot does finally find out what Calaf's real name is,but has fallen for him in the meantime and decides to marry him.