In old Baghdad, an impoverished poet (Howard Keel) is abducted and brought to the desert tent of Jawan (Jay C. Flippen), an elderly thief, having been mistaken for a man who cursed Jawan fifteen years ago. As a result of the curse, Jawan's beloved son was kidnapped, and Jawan longs to find him again before he dies. The Poet asks for one hundred gold pieces to reverse the curse; Jawan agrees, and returns to Baghdad to look for his son.