Pahlavi is the last Shah of Iran, and by the end of the book is forced to flee the country in February of 1979 amidst revolution. He is the son of Shah Reza Khan, a larger-than-life ruler. In some ways, Pahlavi struggled to emerge from his father's shadow, and never succeeded in doing so. Kapuscinski points to an early photograph of Pahlavi as proof of this psychology, contrasting physically imposing and confident Reza Khan with his pale and frail son Pahlavi.