Set in 1938 in the South Pacific, the series is about an ex-Flying Tigers fighter pilot named Jake Cutter. Now the operator of an air cargo delivery service based on the fictional South Seas island Bora Gora, he flies a red and white Grumman Goose called Cutter's Goose. Jake's best friend is his mechanic Corky, a good hearted alcoholic with a hazy memory from heavy drinking. However, a one eyed Jack Russell terrier named Jack, which barks once for "no" and twice for "yes" (or the opposite if it suits him) would dispute just who Jake's best friend really is. Jack wears an eye patch, but used to have a false eye made of opal with a star sapphire center that Jake lost in a poker game—and refuses to let Jake forget it.

Jake's love interest and U.S. government spy contact is Sarah Stickney White. She sings in the Monkey Bar as a cover for her espionage activities. The Reverend Willie Tenboom, a phony man of the cloth who likes to "bless" the female natives in private "prayer", is in reality a Nazi spy named Willy, with interests in both sides.

"Bon Chance" Louie is the owner of the Monkey Bar and the French magistrate for Bora Gora. Jake's nemesis is the Japanese princess Koji, a Dragon Lady type of character who has eyes for Jake. Koji's devoted bodyguard is Todo, a fierce practitioner of Bushido and loyal to the princess.

The title is derived from a gigantic mythical golden statue that is the focal point of the pilot episode, seen only by the viewer at the end of the show. The characters end their search for the statue after finding a substitute brass monkey that is kept at the Monkey Bar for the rest of the series.