Tanner's latest assignment is to find the AWOL ruler of the African nation of Modonoland, Kuhnonde Nuhdoro, the Glorious Retriever. At first he had been the typical dictator, building marble palaces and erecting statues of himself, then he expanded into the opium trade. He went missing after an uprising but also missing was the state treasury. In Modonoland Tanner meets Sheena, the beautiful daughter of a local missionary. Clad in a leopard skin she professes to be "Jane" and is dangerously involved with tribal killings. Tanner must fight not just the revolutionaries, but also the CIA and white supremacists, before he can extricate himself from this dangerous situation.

Originally published in 1970, the current volume reprints yet another adventure with Evan Tanner, a likeable hero whose ingenuity, wit and daring takes him in and out of dangerous situations. Block delivers the well constructed plot with a blend of wit and wry humor, while he also keeps the action moving at a fast pace. The scenes and atmosphere in the African country are realistic. The scenes of Tanner in a coffin are hilarious. The plot could well be in today's headlines. Things have changed there but not that much.