Chapters One through Four Summary

A priest named Obalawa Mehuru, who is trained in the interpretation of dreams, wakes from a dream about a ship heavy with the stink of rotten meat. He has trouble shaking off the feeling of dread left from the dream but finally does. Later, there's a meeting of his council at Old Oyo in the African kingdom of Dahomey where the alafin - or king - bans the trade of slaves with white men. At Mehuru's suggestion, the alafin orders that the priests travel the region, explaining the decision to the people. Meanwhile, at Redclift Dock in Brostol, Josiah Cole writes a letter to Frances Scott, a young woman who has applied for a position of governess. Josiah writes that he cannot consider her as his employee but would like to make her his wife. At the...