It is based on an Anglo-Egyptian character, Issum, who has his parents' inheritance stolen by his Egyptian uncle and sister at different times and in different countries.

He feels no patriotism to either society yet is torn emotionally between the two cultures. Eventually at the age of forty, he becomes a professional teacher and marries an older alcoholic woman, out of compassion. He believes he can help cure her from her addiction and help her reach her true potential in life, by supplying her with the opportunities to do so.

After three years of torment, anguish and...