Lieutenant Colonel James Fitzroy Lodd is a modern day soldier of fortune whose misinterpreted Arab leanings have cost him his Army career yet earned him the protection of Shaikh Rashid, ruler of the tiny oil shaikhdom of Dubai. From the back room of his semi reputable establishment, the Ten Tola Bar, Lodd orchestrates some high risk business ventures guaranteed to parlay an Army pension into very high the smuggling of gold across the Arabian Sea to Bombay, the conversion of five hundred million Petro dollars into Arab control of the US communications media, and a desperate attempt to break an international oil cartel that could cost Lodd everything... including the very beautiful woman that he loves.