Malaya in 1905 was a part of the vast British Empire. Inspector Briscoe felt his routine temporary assignment there a wonderful opportunity for an exotic honeymoon.until murder intervened and Evan and Celia find themselves drawn into the strange affair at French's Station. What appeared to be a simple, but deadly, dispute between two Tamil laborers soon evolves into a maelstrom of lust, greed, jealousy and hatred. The centerpiece of this drama rests with the mistress of French's Station, a half-caste of exquisite beauty with the manipulative powers of a Delilah. The Briscoes find that beneath the soft-petaled hibiscus and frangipani the deadly serpent lurks, and the same gritty human passions exist in this tropical Eden as in the slums of gray London.