[1] Fresh from a failed rebellion in Brythunia, in which he served as a mercenary on the opposing side, Conan joins forces with a tribe of native warriors led by Achilea (former queen of the Amazons).

The warriors travel across Zamora, Koth, and the Stygian Desert before crossing a range of southeastern mountains.

Caught between the evil agenda of his demonic employers and the Jangarians, Conan finds himself trapped in his battle with a giant crocodile as the city approaches its eventual destruction.

Don D'Ammassa, writing of Roberts' Conan novels, noted that "[a]lthough Roberts did not recreate Howard's character exactly, making him more intellectual and less inclined to solve every problem by hitting it with a sword, his evocation of the barbaric setting is superior to that of most of the other writers contributing to the series.

"[4] In another place he notes that he "would hate to judge John Maddox Roberts based on Conan and the Amazon ... [a] poor work... from [an] otherwise skilled pastiche writer..."[5]