Mickey is fighting mad. Someone pushed him into the river and he nearly drowned. Once he got out, his first priority is to find the guilty party, even if it means travelling four thousand miles from his home in Salford, England to the heart of Africa. Unfortunately, he isn't the only one making this scarey journey. The British government has decided they have too many Boat People arriving on their shores, uninvited, and have decided to fly them to the same remote location, a disturbing, politically unstable country, where violence and bribery are commonplace.

Mickey is a decent person, and he can't help himself. He has to step in when he sees people being bullied and harassed. It deflects him from his quarry, and puts himself in danger, but with the arrival of some old friends, he is able to master the local culture, the foreign currency, and overcome his usual feelings. After all, he wants to get on with his search. Surprisingly, he has assistance as well as blocks and in a surprisingly short time secrets are revealed. People he has had dealings with in the past are passing through the frightening land, often on their way elsewhere, but they have information. Though most of it is contradictory, it's not brains that is in short supply, but actors - people who have the nerve, the skills, the history and the willingness to take a few risks and do their best. Luckily, Mickey fits that bill. Even though his mind is still fogged and unclear since he was in hospital in England, he successfully manages to pull a team together and foil a deadly plot, earning his way back home in the process.