The Goddess Kali plays a pivotal role in the financial ups and downs of a selection of characters – Justin Lamarck, mullato son of a cotton plantation owner; his Hindoo friend Ganesh Srinavasan; and the young wife that Ganesh procures for Justin. The Civil War is approaching, and there is only one person left standing at the end, in a well told and structured story that oozes the usual Cowdrey class.