The novel is about a few years in the life of Rosie Richardson, who decides to go to Africa after she breaks up with her boyfriend, Oliver Marchant, a TV presenter.

But after four years working in Nambula, a fictional country in Northern Africa, there is a famine coming and Rosie turns back to Oliver and his famous friends to get the food they desperately need.

Rosie Richardson works in marketing at a publisher, when she starts dating Oliver Merchant, and falls in love with him.

Oliver is the host of the TV show called SoftFocus where they tackle mostly cultural and political topics.

When Rosie has to go to Nambula on a business trip, the poverty and general environment shock her into the realisation that she wants to spend her life doing something meaningful.