The novel is set in West Africa during World War 2. The deputy commissioner of police, Scobie, normally tries to act ethically but makes some false moves to protect his wife after having an affair with the 19-year-old Helen. As a Catholic, he does not want his wife to discover that he had borrowed money and was responsible for the death of his servant. He even tries to disguise his suicide.

Graham Greene was born in 1904 and became a Catholic in 1926. He was a manic-depressive. This scenario is typical of Greene. To quote from the book, it is one of 'intense heat, vultures, rats, heavy drinking, corruption, and the painful struggle to maintain the Catholic faith in a hostile environment.'

C.C. (U.K., 2016)