Axel Heyst is an American recluse with a dubious past living in the Dutch East Indies port of Surabaya circa 1913. Staying in a German hotel there, Heyst becomes entranced with a member of the hotel's all-female orchestra.
After accidentally committing a crime, a magician's assistant flees to Mexico in search of a Mayan shaman and the magical potion she is rumoured to possess. But upon arrival she is trailed by a handsome private eye.
