It began as an idyllic pleasure cruise in the South Seas. But then sir Pellinore Gwaine-Cust's yacht hits a coral reef and sinks in minutes. Only one survivor ever reaches the safety of shore: Gregory Sallust.

But this is no ordinary island, no peaceful pearl of the Pacific. Gregory Sallust finds that he has escaped death only to be thrown into one of the most dangerous and bizarre adventures of his career - one that takes him deep into the mysteries and forbidden heart of the Orient.