Before Raffles, before Rajah Brooke, there was Captain Francis Light. It is 1790. Penang's meteoric rise from deserted island to thriving port continues at astonishing pace. Fortunes are made in shipping, commerce and plantations; settlers flock in from the region and beyond. But paradise comes at a price: the Dutch and French have set their sights on the island; the Sultan of Queddah rages at the treachery of the British. Penang must fortify and prepare for war. Ultimately, however, it is disease and disasters both natural and manmade that prove the greatest challenge. As Francis Light battles on, his wife Martinha must learn for herself how to negotiate the murky waters of colonial prejudice and corruption for the sake of her family. Emporium is Volume III in Penang Chronicles, which tells the backstory of the establishment of the British settlement of Penang in Malaysia.