On a lark, Wilson talked Flood into traversing the continent on 5 horse-power single-cylinder Triumph motorcycle.
They encounter many trials along the way, often resorting to pushing the bikes where the paths were not suitable as they doggedly pursue a route through jungle and desert from Lagos, Nigeria to the Red Sea.
Throughout the book Wilson refers to their adventure as the "Flood-Wilson Trans-African Motorcycle Expedition".
It includes many encounters with tribal people, poisonous snakes and officers and expatriates from England and France in African colonies and outposts.
[1] Only two years prior had any motor vehicle crossed the continent, that was by automobile.