Summary

Mr. Howlands reflects on his life so far, and how the life he tried to avoid in England has, nonetheless, caught up with him in Kenya, forcing him into an administrative position of the government. He has taken on this role only to protect his land, and has come to think of the Africans who want to take it from him as savages. This includes Jacobo, who has also been given a role in the village affairs, and works alongside Mr. Howlands, with seemingly no awareness of the settler’s contempt for him.

Although Mr. Howlands intends to make use of Jacobo to advance his own agenda in the area, so too does Jacobo intend to pursue his own goals with Mr. Howlands’ assistance. In particular, he wants to get rid of Ngotho’s family, claiming that he thinks Ngotho...