The fishermen of Uwa, a city-state in the Igbo land of Africa bring disturbing news to the elders. Three slave ships-certain harbingers of death-are anchored off the coast of the city-state. The sighting of the boats spells doom for the people. The elders are very aware of what has happened in other communities-kidnappings, slave raids, and warfare. Uwa has gone on alert and has adopted a vigilant watch for the slave traders. They will do all they can to avoid being ravaged and destroyed by the rapacious slave trade. Four days later, Okoro Okonta, an enigmatic, charismatic, ruthless slave merchant from the Ako Kingdom, strolls into the city-state and declares his intention to settle in Uwa. The state elders cannot refuse an Ako man the right to settle in the land-that would be inviting certain annihilation within the week. But the elders wonder if his arrival, on the heels of the slave boats, was just a coincidence or something else entirely.