Driftwood Camp is an oilfield Camp located on the southern coast of Trinidad and so called because of the huge amounts of driftwood washed up on the beach mainly from the Orinoco River. The camp was set up to accommodate British nationals hired to exploit the oil resources at the behest of Winston Churchill to aid the war efforts for World War 2 1939-1945.

The novel covers the period 1958 to 1964 when many colonies were moving to self government including Trinidad and where change was the order of the day. Dr Eric Williams had led the peoples National Movement to power in 1956 and ultimately to internal self government Independence; eventually Trinidad and Tobago became a Republic.
The white British staff enjoy all the benefits of Camp life in strict contrast to the black villages who provide servants, maids, washers and yard boys for the Camp occupants. In their jobs the white "A" staff are highly trained, organised and competent but privately engage in sexual adventures that have serious repercussions.