A tale of piety, greed, debauchery and equanimity in a remote Asian kingdom It's 1875 and Chiang Mai, capital of Lanna, is a cultural crossroads of Buddhist monks and Christian missionaries, of spirit doctors and opium smokers, of seductive dancers and Western adventurers. A sharp rise in teak prices sets off a mad rush for logging concessions, and the forests of Lanna resound to the thwack of axes and the trumpeting of elephants as the mighty trees are felled. Enter Doctor Marion Cheek, a medical missionary and teak trader, whose exploits in this exotic realm - saving the life of the ruler's wife, setting up a harem of local beauties and standing triumphant at the kingdom's highest point - make him a legend in his lifetime.