It is the summer of 1853 and Commander James Rutherford leaves Calcutta once more to renew his campaign against organised Oriental piracy. The principal pirate leader Liang Ziu is dead, but Rutherford obtains intelligence that his criminal organisation continues to operate from a heavily fortified base, secure from conventional attack. Beset anew by intrigue and treachery, Rutherford must somehow confront and destroy this final stronghold, a task which poses difficulties and trials unlike any he has yet encountered.