Opium Traders and Their Worlds examines the opium trade with a detective's investigative approach. The author uses evidence to dismiss many of the false claims commonly held with regard to the so-called "legitimacy" of the Old China trade, presents proof of important figures who were deeply involved in all parts of the world and shows how world events were affected by famous men in opium hierarchies.

Lateral contributors to the drug trade include shipbuilders who fashioned their craft to meet needs of the commerce, designing specially built Indiamen, clippers, and "fast crabs."

Ms. Kienholz shows how vicious competition in the trade moved players like chess pieces, with winners and losers shifting positions.

Her research into the production of the new "opioids" such as oxycodone is an area not previously probed.