Chiefly composed from the diaries of Lieut. Jack Brooke, Fergusson recounts two major ventures. The first journey in 1906-7 was conducted on a well-known route from Koko Nor over the Tangla to Tibet. The second and last journey was undertaken in December 1907 and culminated in the loss of Brooke's life, along with that of his Tibetan boy interpreter. Following a disagreement with a Lolo chief concerning payment for trespassing on Lololand, Brooke shot and killed the chief and was subsequently attacked and killed by another local chief.