A new translation by Tina Kover, edited by Werner Sollors and with an introduction by Jamaica Kincaid, was published by Random House, Inc./Modern Library in May 2007.

The novel concerns the life of Georges, the son of a wealthy mulatto planter named Pierre Munier, on the French colony of Mauritius.

Henri Malmédie, the son of a wealthy planter, begins to mock Georges for the treatment meted to his father, resulting in a fight breaking out between the two.

Through numerous tests of will, Georges overcomes his weaknesses and becomes skilled in a variety of fields, ranging from hunting to the art of seducing women.

However, Georges cannot tolerate the injustice of slavery, so he conspires with the enslaved population on the colony to lead a slave revolt against the French planters.