Publisher's Synopsis
1885: A young prince, kidnapped into slavery, returns to his tribal homeland in one of the remotest parts of Africa. Kali has regained his freedom with the help of his fellow captives, Stas and Nell. The adventures he shared with the Polish boy and British girl have made a strong impression on the young African. As he takes his rightful place as king, he is determined to rule a civilization based on peace, liberty and progress. He embarks on a program of sweeping modernization.
Decades later, with his people being stripped of their land and erased from the history books, an elderly Kali prepares to meet death on a dirt road, alone except for the last few of his inner circle. A moment before he dies, Kali is visited by a Mzimu - a divine spirit -- and a mysterious shapeshifting cheetah, who have the ability to control time. They announce that they are putting him on trial for the actions he took as the Bwana Kubwa of Wa-himaland. Together, the three of them bear witness to events from Kali's life as he tries to build a progressive but isolationist society in secret -- with the tacit blessing of his British colonial overlords. As colonial ultimatums grow more and more outrageous, Kali must navigate a series of demands and betrayals from his fellow Africans that could spell certain disaster for his grand experiment-and perhaps show that his dream of an African utopia could never have worked in the first place. As Kali journeys through his life, he begins to question the well-intentioned actions he took as the leader of his nation. Is he really guilty of collaborating with the enemy? And has he condemned his people to an even crueler fate at the hands of rival tribes and post-colonial masters? The time-travelers must reach a verdict. Knowing that his life is at an end, the slave who became a king must bow to their judgment on his legacy.
