Told through the memories of John Campbell, an old man whose life goes back to the Morant Bay rebellion of 1865, this novel is an intensely vivid narrative of the history of Jamaican nationalism. In the present, John Campbell's grandnephew Garth listens eagerly to the old man's story, gathering information and advice for his generation's nationalist movement. First published in 1949, this novel is a pioneering work both in exploiting the rhythms of Caribbean language and recounting the making of Jamaican national consciousness from the perspective of the black majority. It explores the conflict between a violent and peaceful means in the struggle for social justice.

V. S. Reid was a journalist, a newspaper editor, and a politician. He is the author of The Jamaicans and The Leopard as well as four novels for children, Nanny-Town, Peter of Mount Ephraim, Sixty-Five, and The Young Warriors.