While capturing anacondas in the jungles of South America, adventurer Wandering Smith spies an orchid hunter fleeing from a troupe of angry natives spewing poisoned arrows. But when this orchid hunter joins the hunting expedition, it becomes clear that he thirsts for something other than rare orchids - he is also collecting the jewels used to adorn shrunken heads.
Elmer Brown Mason is largely forgotten today save for aficionados of pulp magazines. His great contribution to the genre of adventure fiction is his five-story series about Wandering Smith. Isaiah Ezekiel "Wandering" Smith can usually be found at Pere Guerrin's, a rough hangout in New Orleans. His job is to help anyone "who wants to go after something unusual in a strange place".