Theo is fifteen when he first arrives in the country, the son of the new Director of Kenyan railways. Very soon he is falling under the spell of the glamourous Happy Valley set. But behind this allure lies a dangerous cocktail of love, lust and betrayal that Theo must navigate and all the while, dark clouds are gathering over his family and fortunes as Africa changes around them. A coming-of-age story set against the richly atmospheric backdrop of colonial Kenya in the 1920s.