Bombay (known today as Mumbai) is one of India's most important ports, and is the standard port of entry for the liners of the P&O and White Star lines , travelling from Europe or the Americas (including the investigator's own Viceroy of India).

The name Bombay is from the Portuguese Bom Bahia which means 'good harbour'. The main part of the city sits on Colaba Island, one of seven inhabited islands that make up the area of greater Bombay. the highest point in the city is Malabar Hill and the Southern end of Colaba Island surrounds a fine harbour.

The climate of the city is humid, but alleviated by ocean breezes, and this made it a popular spot for Westerners to settle. Consequently the city has a strong European influence in its architecture and culture. Despite this, Gandhi's passive resistance movement is strong in Bombay and resentment of British colonialism is growing.

The city is home to India's Parsees, a group of Zoroastrians descended from Persians and known for their black skullcaps and liberal, Western ways. Many other cultures are represented though, and the majority is still Hindu.

A common way of getting about Bombay's teeming streets is by horse-drawn buggies called ghari. The city is also a contradictory mix of extremely rich merchants and dirt-poor beggars, and as in any major Indian cities Westerners are constantly pestered by a mix of lepers, the maimed and the plain indolent.