Dibia’s third novel follows a complex story of romance and revenge set against the social and political climate of contemporary Nigeria, often told through flashbacks and dream sequences.

Three men—Scorpion, Razor, and Cobra—discuss the logistical details of perpetrating their crime in a wealthy compound, an event later revealed as the infamous rape and murder of socialite, Katherine Cole.

Cole’s murder becomes a sort of touchstone throughout the novel, serving as a litmus to gauge attitudes towards race and social mobility in the face of systemic corruption and violent urban development.

(Dibia’s depiction of an urban Nigerian ordinary is critical, and comments on the prevalence of everyday crime, corruption, and entrenched economic inequity.)

Omoniyi becomes the victim of a wave of chronic unemployment and is laid off from his office job in a shoe factory; Maya is forced, against her husband’s wishes, to sing at local restaurant in order to supplement the family income.