The reminiscences of an anthropologist revisiting the site of his fieldwork from the 1970s; it is also an account of the life of a prominent politician (and friend of the author) in Sierra Leone.

List of Illustrations xi
Maps xiii
1. Night Flight to Freetown 1
2. The North 12
3. Place of Refuge 20
4. In Kabala 32
5 .The Beef 41
6. Within These Four Walls 49
7. The Executions 56
8. Fina Kamara’s Story 64
9. Tina Kome Marah 74
10. Early Days 86
11. Independence 98
12. Going Abroad 107
13. In Government 112
14. Thinking Back 125
15. Seeds of Conflict 132
16. The War 140
17. Day into Night 151
18. The Reversals of Fortune 161
19. The Value of Shade 170
20. Exile 180
21. In Conakry 186
22. Trust and Truth 192
23. The Hotel 201
Notes 209
Index 223