In the greatest adventure of the Victorian age, a famous explorer makes a heroic relief expedition to a beleaguered British outpost deep in the heart of Africa. The British Empire, at its zenith, is shocked by the fall of Khartoum and the murder of General Gordon. But word reaches London that all is not lost; one garrison, commanded by the Emin Pasha, still holds out against the Mahdi leading the rebellion against the British in the Sudan. The Emin Pasha is hailed as a hero of mythic proportions, Gordon's successor, and England's hope. From the Queen to the mob, his rescue is demanded. But only one man is up to the challenge of this mammoth expedition across 5,000 miles of the uncharted Congo, where no white man has walked: Henry Morton Stanley, a hero of amazing complexity and daring. Whatever the cost, Stanley will rescue the Emin Pasha.