Embarking in the tropics, a ship's captain makes the instant acquaintance of a seemingly genial Mr. Jacobus and his irritable brother. One a respectable businessman with a considerable reputation, the other a confessed rogue and entrepreneur with no reputation left to lose, the captain is at a loss to determine which he should befriend. Yet as events unfold, he becomes increasingly in thrall to the less scrupulous of the two and finds himself the unwitting partner in a deeply unorthodox transaction. The Smile of Fortune is a masterly tale of misplaced loyalty, family feuds, and illicit bargaining. Placed by many critics as a forerunner of Modernism, Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) is best known for his chilling masterwork Heart of Darkness.