'My name is Vikram Lall. I have the distinction of having been numbered one of Africa's most corrupt men.'Vikram Lall inhabits an 'in-between world': between his ancestral home in India and the Kenya he loves passionately; between his infamous African past and his uncertain future in exile. In this sweeping and sumptuous novel, M. G. Vassanji weaves a rich tapestry of vivid characters, real and imagined, in a land caught between colonialism and independence, between escape from political terror and a seemingly inevitable return to Africa, a return that may cost Vikram Lall dearly ."A thwarted love story . utterly compelling and shot through with the intensity of lived experience.

" Observer"Vassanji captures a wide and authentic perspective that ranks with V. S. Naipaul and Graham Greene." The Times"A writer at the top of his form." Guardian"This warm-hued, marvellously accomplished novel opens up a world that will be new and unfamiliar to many readers, and one that they will not easily forget." Scotsman"A wholly engaging and spirited novel of Africa: warm, shrewdly charming, replete with its own wry and humane wisdom." William Boydotsman"A wholly engaging and spirited novel of Africa: warm, shrewdly charming, replete with its own wry and humane wisdom." William Boyd.