Victor Sassoon, a preeminent bon vivant, has found himself trading correspondence with Doctor Henry Armitage. They share a common goal and a common modus operandi. Victor fights to keep his empire safe, but he also fights for a Shanghai free from Mythos influence. Victor has gathered around him professors, detectives, muscles, guns, criminals and other problem solvers to mount a defense against a rising tide. Victor is your hook.

The trail leads to...

 - a strange gate opened by an ancient Daoist ritual, and an alien spirit called forth from the Polaris solar system.

 - a Shanghai triad operated by someone claiming to be the deceased Empress Dowager Cixi.

 - a scam at the horse track, a heartbroken triad gangster, and the Bloated Woman.

 - a lost city of golden sands, a field of black lotus, and a place suspended in time and space.