The theme of survival under circumstance is a major one in the novel. The curfew, imposed by the soldiers at the helm of affairs restricts nocturnal movement yet one needs to get home at the close of day. When the curfew catches up with both Nii and I-Put-it-to-me. They both use their heads. Nii is the protagonist: his wife, Massa, has been bedridden for some time now; he takes care of the sick woman without help. I-Put-it-to-me, also known as Tally O, is a craft man; a member of a team of illegal miners. the Daga group; one other member is Joe, the man who marries Ni's sister, Mama Orojo; he swiles Mama; he dies in the mines. it is curfew time and soldiers and the vigilante are abroad, Nii has been visiting Linda, the secretary in his office who, wants an affair with him, Nii leaves Linda and slips through the security of curfew, pretending to be a lunatic, to get home and Nii notices a man sitting on the stump of a tree in front of his door; he passes by and enters the house. The man is I-Put-it-to-me; he is biding his time to beat the curfew. A soldier, "an army lance corporal', enter Nii's room with -Put-it-to-me, who is being held for breaking curfew. Both Nii and I-Put-it-to-me avoid arrest for breaking curfew by ingenuity, their meeting is ironical; it is this same I-Put-it-to-me who sells a fake gold ring to Ni's sister on her flight to Ghana.