Political Unrest

The novel is set in western part of Africa. It never specifically says what year the novel takes place, but the story unfolds two years after a political coup has made the president of the country a young military officer. Two years later, there are signs of political unrest rearing its ugly head once again, so each of the characters in the novel find themselves living with another coup hanging over their heads. Some of the cabinet members of the government or officials that hold titles in the country are boyhood friends of the president, which also seems to cause some friction and push the political environment toward that of another coup.

The novel begins with one of the cabinet members, the Commissioner of Information, Christopher Oriko, in what appears to be a meeting with the president of Africa, as well as other cabinet members. While it...