greville becomes disillusioned with politics, because he feels that political gaming prefers stalemate to partisanship,and therefore, opposes real change. subsequently, greville states that he is going to resign from parliament as soon as possible. this is a startling announcement because greville comes from a family of politicians, and his son is already active in grassroots politics. however, before his intended resignation, he must complete a final diplomatic mission as an mp; he journeys to central africa to meet ndoula, a controversial freedom fighter who has been imprisoned by the colonial powers. while he is in africa, without the emotional chaos of his personal life, greville begins to introspect, writing and trying to make sense of his life.