Doc Savage novelist Will Murray takes the fourth Phantom back to 'The First Skull.' For centuries, all Phantoms have sworn an oath to fight piracy on the skull of their father, the first Phantom. A Singh pirate leader has learned of this skull, though he doesn't know its true significance, and to avenge the many defeats of his ancestors by the hands of the Phantom line, He decides to steal that very skull, hoping to demoralize the Phantom. No pirate has ever penetrated the Deep Woods before, but backed by a tiny band of cutthroats the ancestral cranium is stolen!