Thus begins Bohannon's story. Having had his wallet lifted by a one night stand who may be either the girl of his dreams or just a common grifter, this world weary traveler decides as a matter of honor that he must pursue her.

Recruiting a scout from the roughneck Caucasian castoffs of the New Guinea port, he tracks her up country, to regions where headhunters still roam and forces of law and order play by entirely different rules.