Luke Barrett, having lost his memory due to an accident, does not realize that Dingus had killed his wife and brother to take possession of the Barretts' land and money. At first Luke trusts him, but while looking for his forgotten identity he discovers the truth.

After dealing with the Shut in the Balkans, Kara Ben-Nemsi ('Karl the German') receives a firman (precious passport) from the padishah (Ottoman sultan) before he continues his travels through Kurdistan. Achmed El Corda, the son of Halef's Hadedhin Beduin tribe's sheik Mohammed Emin, has been captured by the machredsh (Turkish governor) of Mossul for resisting water seizure by his Turkish troops. Kara takes charge of the rescue.

Biography of the famous bandit El Tempranillo, acting with impunity in Sierra Morena during the reign of Ferdinand VII.