Based on the experiences of actor/director Richard E. Grant during the late 1960s in the British colonial community in Swaziland as that country was becoming independent. Portrays a community occupied with booze and adultery in an attempt to stave off boredom. Follows the divorce of young Ralphie's parents and his adjustment when he returns from boarding school two years later to find that his alcoholic father has married an American stewardess. Shows how Ralph finds comfort in acting and through the love of a young girl.