"Mission" is an intriguing story focusing on the mysterious contemporary enterprise of James, an elderly European racketeer infamous for decades of illegal enterprise, including such activities as gun-running and smuggling, throughout Africa with principal focus on Ethiopia. The story unfolds as the memoirs of an Ethiopian orphan who was adopted, at an early age, by a foreign school teacher in her village; now, an adult ex-soldier, Lucy seeks revenge for the brutal murder of her adoptive mother. Other important character-driven relationships are introduced as the plot unfolds: e.g., the generational schism between James, his son and his grandson; and Taffere, a renowned Ethiopian Chief of Police and his wife, Enatnesh, who initiates her own investigation into the events implicated in the death of her son.
