It includes the title novella, "A Flag on the Island," outtakes from previous books such as "The Enemy", from Miguel Street, and pieces published in periodicals in Britain or the United States.

[1] He spent the next few months in Trinidad and Tobago writing a novella, "A Flag on the Island".

[2] The main character is an American named "Frankie" who affects the mannerisms of Frank Sinatra.

[3] Naipaul wilfully makes the pace of the book feverish, the narrative haphazard, the characters loud, the protagonist fickle or deceptive, and the dialogue confusing.

[4] Frankie was left chastened about finding tidy solutions to the island's social problems.