The irresistible lure of limitless opportunity drew con men and kings, merchants and sailors, outlaws and heroes to New Orleans, the spicy Cajun capital at the mouth of the majestic Mississippi. Here European bluebloods mingled with buckskin-clad frontiersmen - knives flashed in deadly duels over marked cards, fancy women, and shady deals - and legal commerice vied with criminal schemes to possess the vast fortunes of America's most ambitious and ruthless men. From north of St. Louis down past Natchez to the fertile Bayou, the broad deep river carried barges piled high with valuable cargo and stern-wheelers crowded with eager Americans hungry for the sin and sweetness of exciting New Orleans. But on its seamier streets a dark underworld flourished. There, a cruel ex-lawman hid the beautiful young gentlewoman he had seduced with lies, while he plotted to kill the bold Englishman who had sworn to avenge her honor. And from the far west rode Toby Holt - a fighting man as famous as his father, Wagonmaster Whip Holt - to wage a one-man war on a dreaded Oriental Tong - as the forces of good and evil prepared to battle for control of this rich, fast growing land along the Father of Rivers!