The main events of this novel occur in Ethiopia during the revolutionary period of 1969-1974, ending with the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie.
The chief protagonist, Desta, is a well-placed official of the Emperor's government who is a close confidant of the Prime Minister and is at the same time a member of an underground revolutionary movement. He also has a complicated love life. The tension implicit in his dual roles between his private and public life gives Desta's odyssey its peculiar quality against a fascinating social milieu and political drama. Indeed, Desta, the narrator/participant, has the ability to get the reader's interest by maintaining a wonderful balance between his dual roles.

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