In the country of Madia, a young prostitute runs into the sea and drowns. The last man who spoke to her, the 'madman' Bukuru, is asked to account for her last moments. When his testimony implicates the Madian armed forces, Bukuru is arrested and charged with her death. Bukuru, acting as his own attorney, counters these charges with allegations of government complicity in a series of violent assaults and killings, telling the court that the president himself is guilty of rape and murder. The incident is hushed up, and Bukuru is sent back to prison. But a young journalist manages to visit him, and together they journey through decades of history that illuminate the entire nation.