'It is a detective story, and has to do with buried treasures stolen from the ruined palaces of a forgotten city in China by three adventurers, one of whom tricks his partners and escapes with the spoils. The scene then shifts to the Occident - to London, Paris, and Italy - where the hero detective follows the absconding partner in order to restore to the other adventurers their booty'.
Source: New York Times, 6 July 1901.