In the year 1938, James Lee Quatermain, heir to a storied family name, is-a man of many talents, adventurous at heart, endlessly resourceful, and undeniably charismatic-yet retaining and managing money is not among his strengths, for though he carries within him the spirit and daring of his legendary great-grandfather Allan Quatermain-and indeed fashions himself, in many respects, as a modern incarnation of that fabled explorer-he simultaneously distrusts and resents the weighty legacy the name imposes, despising those who wave it for shallow prestige or exploit it for hollow fame, yet at the same time never failing to slyly squeeze from that very same name whatever funds or advantages he can, juggling debts, favors, and coincidences in a constant dance of opportunism and reluctant homage.