Thrown into the decadent heart of the ex-pat community, Agatha is besieged by jealous colleagues, corrupt officials, antiquity smugglers and a local population furious at the theft of their cultural heritage. As the body count rises and Agatha finds herself falling in love with Max, it becomes apparent that the key to this mystery lies outside the walls of the colonial lodge: there is a force at work that has no concern for history or humanity. But it has met his match in Agatha.