A boundary dispute between rival tribes in the remote mountains of Waziristan always spells potential danger for the Raj by weakening the borders with hostile Afghanistan. So the High Commissioner immediately sets forth to arbitrate and the 114th Queen's Own Royal Strathspeys are part of his escort into the wild passes south and west of Peshawar. But for Captain James Ogilvie this particular emergency takes a more personal turn when his cousin Hector's attractive young wife, Angela, is kidnapped by one of the warring native factions. So Ogilvie leads a special patrol in search of his cousin's wife, and finds himself used as a counterweight in the bizarre game of blackmail the tribes mistakenly hope to play with the Raj. But in a system where blackmail can never prevail, the lives of the imprisoned pawns are in the greatest peril.