The pirate Olivier Levasseur, 'the Buzzard', has captured the greatest ship ever to sail the high seas, and with it one of the most valuable treasures of the age. The Virgin of the Cape is a Portuguese ship carrying a solid gold cross seven feet long - the spectacular Fiery Cross of Goa. Levasseur is hiding somewhere in the Indian Ocean, but Patrick Devlin is on his tail. However, Devlin's former master, and bitter enemy, John Coxon, has been sent to kill him... Cross of Fire sees Devlin traverse Guinea, the slave coasts of Africa and the pirate islands of the Seychelles, with the Royal Navy blocking his path, his old pirate enemies hunting him and his murderous former master hot on his heels.