Tayo Ajayi prepares to set sail for England where he has been accepted into Oxford University on a scholarship. Nigeria and Africa are abuzz with independence fervor. The continent is also at the beginning of its journey towards an expected bright and self- determined future. In Oxford, Tayo joins other young students, African and British, who talk about the Civil Rights Movement, the cultural and sexual revolutions, and about apartheid in South Africa. Malcolm X visits his college. It’s a rarefied world of the future leaders and intellectuals of Africa and the children of the old World order and the British Empire. Tayo meets and falls in love with Vanessa Richardson, British colonial officer’s daughter. And they negotiate their relationship against a background of race and racism. Most notably, Vanessa’s father openly discourages any talk of marriage, implying that Tayo is not a suitable match for his daughter. Tayo also worries whether his family back in Nigeria will accept Vanessa. The couple’s relationship hits a stumbling block when Tayo is recalled to Nigeria to attend to his sick father.