The story begins when a lovely female named Olivia, having fled captivity from the city of Akif, is chased down and cornered in a marsh, on the edge of the Vilayet Sea. Her pursuer and former master is a sadistic rogue named Shah Amurath. But before he can lay hands on her, a figure rises from the reeds. The newcomer has seen all his friends betrayed and treacherously cut down to a man before escaping into the marshes. There he has hidden out for so long he is nearly mad. The newcomer quickly dispatches Shah Amurath, then he and Olivia hop in a boat and decide to lie low for a little while.