The Blair brothers sail with the piratical Bugis tribe on a 2,000-mile voyage through the Spice Islands in search of the golden-tailed Greater Bird of Paradise, the symbol of eternal life.
The Blair brothers camp among the dragons of Komodo Island, witness the lethal equestrian war sport of Sumba Island, and in New Guinea they dwell among the Asmat tribe of cannibals and headhunters. Later, the brothers discover the charms of life on Bali.
From the erupting crater of “Child of Krakatoa,” the Blair brothers descend into a world of medieval courts, mystical shadow plays, forgers of magical swords, and healers with supernatural powers.
For 800 miles through uncharted rainforest, by canoe and on foot, the Blairs seek – and find – the last of the “dream wandering” tribe of nomadic Punan Dyaks, believed to no longer exist.
Several years after the decade-long exploration, following his brother’s death rites in Bali, Lawrence takes a boatload of friends (including Mick Jagger and Jerri Hall) on an adventure from the cannibal swamps of New Guinea westward back through the island cultures in a retrospective of the changing archipelago.