Operating from the rebuilt city of Djafur, located on one of the islands in the Aetolian Archipelago, Conan tricks the Turanian Empire of King Yildiz into a war against the Hyrkanians.

Joining forces with a necromancer, Crotalis, Conan and his pirates participate in looting the lost city of Sarpedon.

However, Crotalis betrays the pirates, forcing Conan to run his vessel ashore, where he's captured by a tribe of Hyrkanian nomads.

Soon, the battle leaves the navies of both kingdoms in a weakened state, and Conan's Red Brotherhood becomes the strongest fleet in the Vilayet Sea.

He feels the story "largely consists of two parts: an extended undersea excavation and a big naval battle.