Grief and Lavinia work to keep their relationship on track. However, Lavinia becomes doubtful when Grief is given the daughter of a tribal chief in a trade transaction. Luckily, the Reverend Trent takes a liking to her.
Steven DeGuerre is a successful businessman who returns to Matavai to share his newfound success and the fortune he has acquired, coinciding with a series of explosions and criminal activities.
Blackbirding had, for all intents and purposes, come to a halt a few years before our takes place. However, several natives have recently been decimated of its youngest, strongest citizens.
For the first time since his break-up with Lavinia, Grief finds himself attracted to another woman: the beautiful Veronica Gray, assistant to archaeologist Paul Kelstrom.
During a boat trip celebrating Reverend Trent's birthday, the Rattler runs aground, stranding Grief, Mauriri, Trent, Lavinia, and Clare on an uninhabited island.
An exotic black pearl suspected of having supernatural powers finds its way into Matavai and into Grief's possession. A mysterious foreigner arrives to claim it.
Jenny strikes again. She attacks a boat and kidnaps an inventor, Ryan Willer, creator of the gyrocompass, which is being sought after by numerous world powers, including her old German enemy, Victor.