It is early 1942 and South-East Asia is in flames. The Japanese forces storm south through Malaya, Singapore falls and the battle for the Dutch East Indies begins in earnest. With the Japanese already at the gates of Java, a load of gold bullion is discovered left behind in a bank. In a desperate effort to fly the gold to safety in Australia, a damaged airliner is hurriedly repaired and a scratch crew is assembled. They leave Java in the nick of time but a malignant twist of fate interferes. The airplane malfunctions: they hide the gold and barely escape being massacred by insurgents. Hunted by the outraged authorities, the survivors struggle through the war in a series of harrowing adventures. And at the end of the war, the hidden gold put its spell on them. They try to retrieve the "lost" fortune, but they find that the jinx is still there. Misfortune, violence, and death follow in the wake of their bloody treasure hunt that takes them from the Dutch East Indies across continents, spanning India, Australia, Europe, and North Africa. Their exciting exploits and sizzling romances are juxtaposed with historical developments of places scarred by war and colonialism, the racism of corrupt societies and the emerging threat of terrorism. The tale is replete with danger and treachery as the pursuit of "The Java Gold" shows the treasure hunters that the price of greed is human life.