Uhuru (1962) shares the setting and concerns of Something of Value. Ruark's hero, Brian Dermott, like Peter McKenzie, a white hunter whose marriage has failed, believes the whites of Kenya should resist its independence and the consequent domination of the government by blacks. "Uhuru" means freedom. To Dermott, and the white settlers who share his point of view, Kenyan independence is more frightening than the Mau Mau uprising which had taken place several years earlier. Other whites, such as Dermott's Aunt Charlotte, welcome independence; still others hate and fear it but they feel it is useless to resist and plan to return to England.

Ruark believes that the African leaders are inept, cynical, and self-aggrandizing villains who will destroy Kenya if they are allowed to rule. He would thwart their struggle for independence, even if it meant abrogating the rule of law and resorting to violence, fighting...