Charlie, a curious boy with a dangerous dictaphone habit, eavesdrops on the eccentric guests of the Mirage Hotel, as the African nation of Bwalo prepares for the annual appearance of its Glorious Leader Tafumo. Sean, an Irishman who's given his heart (and the best part of his liver) to Bwalo, struggles to write the great African novel. Josef, mythmaker and kingmaker, who paved the way for Tafumo's rise to power, starts to hear the ominous rattle of skeletons in his closet. Hope, the nurse caring for the King, keeps the old man alive, as she mourns her own broken dreams. And in the countdown to the Big Day, storm clouds are gathering as petty criminal, Jack, smuggles something into Bwalo - to the Mirage Hotel - that will change the lives of all of them for ever.