The SAS and others did search for Nazi war criminals in Germany in 1945; they did not engage in the nefarious work I have ascribed to my fictional trio, but I used their real working methods as a basis. Anthony Kemp’s The Secret Hunters was my main source on that subject, but I was also lucky enough to interview veterans of 5 SAS who were involved in war crimes investigations - for which, sincere thanks. Some of the details regarding the Thompson-Bolas were inspired by the lives of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and his mother but, again, I hasten to add that none of that family was ever engaged in the activities described in this novel. Thanks to Michael Veal for his advice on the intricacies of Nigeria’s music scene during this time. I have relocated the Afrospot to a different suburb of Lagos, but kept its name - it is not meant to be an accurate representation of the real club at that time.

I read many accounts of the war in Nigeria, by soldiers, spies, doctors, priests, journalists and others, but I was probably most inspired by The Nigerian Civil War by John de St Jorre, which I remembered seeing on my parents’ bookshelves as a child. I am honoured and grateful that John agreed to read various drafts of this book, and for his encouragement and advice on it.

Many details in the book may seem incorrect at first sight, but prove not to be on closer examination. For example, Lagos is usually one hour ahead of London, but between 1968 and 1971 Britain experimented with something called British Standard Time, whereby the country remained one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time all year round. But any factual errors in the book are mine alone.

I would also like to thank William Boyd, John Boyle, Ajay Chowdhury, Jeannette Cook, Vincent Eaton, Lucy Elliott, Kathrin Hagmaier, John Hellon, Kim Hutchings, Alice Jolly, Renata Mikolajczyk, Iwan and Margareta Morelius, K. V. Ramesh, Andrea Rees, Marika Sandell, Loretta Stanley, Tim Stevens and Martin Westlake for their advice on various drafts; Dr Evelyn Depoortere for her guidance on Lassa fever; David Powell for information on snipers; Alex Haw for his twenty years of friendship and keen questioning; my parents and parents-in-law for their advice, stories and contemporary material; my agent, Antony Topping, for his wonderfully astute reading of the manuscript and able guidance through this process; my editor, Kathryn Court, and everyone at Viking, for their encouragement and advice; and finally, my wife, Johanna, for her honest opinions, steadfast support and belief in this project, and my children for going to bed on time, occasionally.

Select Bibliography

Select Bibliography

Chinua Achebe, No Longer At Ease (Heinemann, 1960)

Chinua Achebe, et al., The Insider: Stories of War and Peace from Nigeria (Nwankwo-Ifejeka, 1971)

A. B. Aderibigbe (ed.), Lagos: The Development of an African City (Longman Nigeria, 1975)

Kunle Akinsemoyin and Alan Vaughan-Richards, Building Lagos (Pengrail, 1977)

N. U. Akpan, The Struggle for Secession, 1966-1970 (Routledge, 2004)