Nkemdilim has confronted the rigours, humiliations and triumphs of pursuing a doctoral degree in the US. Now he returns home to different challenges in the recently independent, mythical West African state of Afukanza, where he faces the struggle for liberation from ignorance and servitude. This character, a vehicle of social commentary, is distinctive for his independence of mind and intuitive understanding of the uncertain and unsettled values in both the institutions of the US and a fledgling African sovereignty.