In Season One, there is a shrewd, charming, and disreputable Irish adventurer called William "China" Smith in Singapore. He can be hired cheap for jobs that require an insider`s knowledge of the less polite neighborhoods of the Far East. Inspector Hobson of the Singapore police disapproves of him. To Hobson, Smith is a fellow named Davey Fitzgerald, wanted for treason in Ireland. Smith frequently charms information and money out of a cool and beautiful Eurasian woman known as Madame Shira,whom he calls "Empress. She owns the Trade Winds Hotel, where stolen goods and fugitives often come to rest. In Season Two, Smith is based in Hong Kong and Macao, and there are no other continuing characters.