In the classic adventure novel King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard, Allen Quartermain, Sir Henry Curtis, Captain Good, and a group of trackers and porters that they assemble set forth on a quest for the legendary treasure hidden in the mines of King Solomon. The overall setting of the story is Africa's uncharted interior. Quartermain possesses an enigmatic map that supposedly will lead them to the site of the mines.

The story begins in Durban, which is now part of South Africa, as Allen Quartermain begins to write the story after the completion of the adventure. The adventure itself begins on a ship from Cape Town to Durban on which Quartermain meets Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good. He shows them the map, and they enlist his help on their search for the mines and for Sir Henry's brother, who has gone to look for them.

After the adventurers commence their journey by oxcart, story settings include a vast desert in which they find an oasis with life-saving water, a mountain range, a cave in the mountains where they find the corpse of the Portuguese explorer who originally drew the map, and a lush green valley. Within the valley is Kukuanaland, which is ruled by an evil king with an army of fearsome warriors. They find the treasure room of King Solomon's mines within a mountain. Although they become trapped inside the mountain, they manage to escape with enough diamonds to make them wealthy.