Patricia and her friends have left the Aurelia for a trip to Zangrabar, the tiny Middle Eastern country whose prized sapphire she saved in her first adventure. Captain Alastair Huntley is reluctant to let her go, both for reasons of the heart and security, so he sends Officers Deepa Bhukari and Martin Baker, along with Jermaine, Barbie, Rick, and Akamu, with her.

The captain’s fears are well-founded, because the maharaja’s plane comes under enemy fire shortly after takeoff. The flight lands safely, but Patricia’s sense of decorum is severely tested by the young potentate, whose teenage vocabulary and outrageous propositions clash with the polite and proper correspondence she has exchanged with him. The incongruities lead her to believe the claims of his valet, Aladdin, who claims that the rude young man is not the maharaja, but a lookalike stashed in place for suspicious reasons.

After meeting with the ruler’s uncle, Prince Zebrahim, and the country’s religious leader, the vizier, Patricia tends to believe Aladdin, especially as Rick and Akamu disappear and a cobra is unleashed in her bedroom. As the attacks mount, her common sense and inquisitive nature lead her in and out of scrapes and situations, befuddling the enemies who believe women are incapable of sleuthing and subterfuge.

Although each mystery is packed with challenges, Mission for the Maharaja takes Patricia’s adventures to new levels, leaving readers breathless on nearly every page. Her fans will not be disappointed by this mission.