Gilbert Winterblossom, known simply as Gertie to his colleagues in the London office, never saw himself as a hero. His quiet, dreamy nature is alien to excitement and the thirst for fame, he has no desire for adventure and, when faced with danger, shows prudence commendable for a young gentleman. The limit of his dreams was calm desk work surrounded by documents and letters, but fate played a cruel joke on Mr. Winterblossom, sending him from his native London to wild Polynesia, which was just being developed by Great Britain, to a colony called New Bangor. Too late, Gertie understands that this island, from the very beginning which at first seemed strange to him, is fraught with many secrets of the most nasty, unexpected and dangerous nature. Moreover, he is now inextricably linked with these secrets, since the Office of New Bangor, his new place of duty, is by no means such a harmless and calm institution as he imagined.