Evocation of the ruthless war from 1890 to 1894 which opposed the French colonial army of the young Ahydjere Behanzin, king and living god of Dahomey, ending in his surrender and his exile.

Set in 1931, Sugar Cane Alley paints a rich impasto of native life under French colonial rules, filtered through the coming-of-age of a bright, sweetly opportunistic boy.