1663: While commanding a man-of-war in the Mediterranean, Captain Matthew Quinton captures a Corsair pirate under the nose of a furious Maltese Knight -- the sinister Montnoir. But the 'pirate' is soon unmasked as O'Dwyer, a renegade Irishman with a fabulous yarn about a vast gold mine in the west African desert.
Back at home, an avaricious King Charles II charges the young Captain with accompanying O'Dwyer to Africa and locating the 'mountain of gold'.
With little hope of success, Quinton sails for the Gambia. From the start his mission is dogged by misfortune, murder and sabotage. And to make matters worse, he soon discovers that Montnoir is on the same trail. But who exactly are Montnoir's secret masters? As the pair do battle in hellish conditions, plagued by fever, wild animals and a hostile local people, it becomes clear that more than their own lives are at stake ...