THE ABC's latest series, The Straits, set in steamy far north Queensland will premiere on television sets with a two-hour premiere.

Set among the turquoise waters, sand and lethal wildlife of north Australia and the Torres Strait, The Straits is an exotic, darkly humorous crime drama series.

And its heroes, if they can be called that, are crooks.

The Montebellos have a family business, but not an ordinary one.

The modern day smugglers transport drugs into Australia and export guns and exotic wildlife using ties of blood and loyalty.

Harry Montebello is rich, of Maltese extraction and raised on the streets of London.

He now runs one of the most successful and respected crime organisations in Queensland.

He is married to a Torres Strait Islander woman and runs his operation from Cairns.

Virtually untouchable, he seems to have it all, which is why his family is shocked when he announces he wants his three sons to compete for the right to replace him as head of the family.

Effectively, he pits his sons against each other in their endeavours, each running one area of the family's operation while his daughter must learn to manage the family finances.

This outrages his wife Kitty who has been expecting Harry to honour her family traditions and appoint their eldest son, Noel, as successor.

Over the course of 10 episodes, Noel, his brothers Marou and Gary, and sister, Sissi, jockey for dominant position.

Will the Montebellos unite to overcome bikers on the mainland, and outlaw suppliers and raskols in Papua New Guinea, or will the family collapse into internal warfare?

The Straits airs on Tuesday, February 2, at 8.30pm on ABC1 and February 3 at 10.30pm on ABC2.