Sam Jameson, eight years old at the time of his father George's death, decides, some forty years later, to go through the box of his father's papers which his mother had passed on to him. In trying to piece together the life of a parent he never really knew, Sam discovers a sensitive, inherently kind but insecure man. George has seemingly spent his working life as a native commissioner conscientiously carrying out his duties, but has never quite been able to come to terms with the white man's place in Africa. As his doubts deepen he is overwhelmed by despair.