After his wife Empress Myeongseong is assassinated by the Japanese army and under threat of coup d'etat, Gojong of the Korean Empire the 26th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (Park Hee-soon) briefly seeks Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation in 1896. While he is there, he tastes and falls in love with a bittersweet drink that had yet to gain popularity in his homeland: coffee.