with simmering tensions and hints of darker designs. The opening follows a grim discovery off Saint-Malo: a fisherman brings aboard the yacht La Circé the body of banker Labru, where family and friends gather in shock. A tiny fang-like shard found near the ear and a missing “coral-snake” hook from René Duroc’s box turn suspicion on him; after a chilly investigation and the captain’s testimony of a late-night quarrel, René is convicted and shipped to the penal colony, while Georgette remains convinced of his innocence. The scene shifts to Guyana, where Georges Kerbrat and Diény push up the Maroni into the Tumuc-Humac, battling heat, beasts, and rapids, briefly sheltering desperate escapees; one dying “gnome” forçat, Dizenier, bequeaths a map to a fabulously rich placer and asks that a share go to his actress daughter, Linette Magloire. Guided by the crude sketch, the party strikes an extraordinarily rich gold field, builds the camp “Labru,” and works feverishly until Georges falls ill; word of a famed “white sorcerer” healer in the nearby mountains prompts Diény to scout him—he refuses to come—so Georges resolves to attempt the journey for a cure. (This is an automatically generated summary.)