This memoire begins by charting a personal journey from a childhood spent in Howth, swimming in the cove and exploring the cliffs to Quaker boarding school in Waterford. Donal's studies took him from Dublin to Paris and Cambridge with graduate work in California and London. His decision to work on Africa began during university holidays in the Congo with his father who was serving in the United Nations in 1960.

The School of Oriental and African Studies was the locus of Donal's entire career from Research Fellow to Professor of Political Studies. Many have paid tribute to his capacity to listen, observe and develop his own unique perspective. Equal homage has been paid to his role as a teacher. In his retirement, Donal began work on this story of an Irishman living abroad. As a mark of his persistent courage, he completed the text in the last months of his life, despite serious illness. The migrant travelled well.