During the British Raj, Captain Carruthers works under cover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of India, the modern day Afghanistan-Pakistan border (the Durand Line).

To forestall this, the British governor signs a treaty with the friendly, peace-loving ruler of Tokot, a key kingdom in the region, which is described as four days' march northward from Peshawar.

Azim manages to warn Carruthers of the impending massacre by playing a danger signal on the "Sacred Drum of Tokot", saving many British lives.

This is true to life, as the Gordon Highlanders were very active on the North-West Frontier during the British Raj, and were, for a time, garrisoned at Fort Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

[3] One sequence shows an Indian Army gun crew unlimbering a mountain battery, a small field piece that was disassembled and transported on the backs of pack animals.

During an early scene with his courtiers, Prince Ghul says that he was an observer at Gallipoli, and that emulation of British training and tactics, not religious enthusiasm, will be the key to his own army's success.