A seemingly slow-witted detective arrives in the Colony to take over the investigation of stolen Brazilian diamonds and is tangled in series of murders with a dagger, that has on its handle a snake and crescent insignia, as the weapon.

Author/explorer John W. Vandercook conceived the character of Bertram Lynch as an investigator for the League of Nations. He is Trinidad's Port o' Spain trying to track down the leader of a gang of diamond smugglers. A trail, littered with murders, leads him to a crocodile-infested swamp.—Les Adams <[email protected]>