The book is set initially in Manila, the Philippine Islands in the years 1606/7. The Ming Dynasty had control of the southern provinces of China. They lost their hold on the Philippine Islands at the beginning of the reign of the Spanish King Philip II in 1556. Partly in retribution for the loss of these Islands, the Ming Dynasty encouraged the illegal immigration of their poverty stricken southern subjects. The Spanish referred to these migrants as the Sangley and their town as the Parian. These migrants had a tight hold on the financial sector and the majority of the shops in Manila and elsewhere in these islands. Famine was a constant problem in China, Philippines and other sections of the Far East and this led to conflicts in the surrounding countries. The book is mainly based upon one family, where Jose Gonzales was Master of one of the Spanidsh ships, his wife Isabella, their son Jose Diego, Jose's Father in Law Don Diego de Guzman, a properous noble and his ailing wife. It covers a series of adventures initially to Sabah, later to Ceylon and India to collect spices, provisions and cattle for the famine affected Philippines. They encountered difficulties originating from the Indian Rajahs who were particularly interested in squeezing graft from the Dutch and others. The Spanish Armada captured some Dutch vessels at Calicut before returning to Manila. Later the Spanidsh Armada took over Tidore in the Molucca Sea at an opportune time when the Dutch were at war with the Portuguese in the area.