Oyono and Anton set out to find a dying man after drumbeats signal misfortune in a nearby village.

Toundi flees his village after a violent argument with his father and asks Father Gilbert for help.

Father Gilbert accepts Toundi as a houseboy, baptizes him as Joseph, and gives him new clothing.

Father Gilbert teaches Toundi to read and write during their time at the mission.

Father Gilbert dies in a motorcycle accident, leaving Toundi without a protector or a clear future.

Father Vandermayer sends Toundi to interview for the position of houseboy with the new Commandant.

The Commandant interviews Toundi about his honesty and accepts him as his new houseboy.

The Commandant's wife Madame arrives in Dangan and stuns everyone with her beauty.

Toundi finally admits to himself that Madame is having an affair with prison director M. Moreau.

M. Moreau has dinner at the Residence and Madame sends all servants away for the night.

The Commandant throws M. Moreau's lighter at Madame and reveals he knows about her affair.

Toundi is arrested at breakfast and accused of helping Sophie steal the agricultural engineer's money and clothes.

Toundi is beaten by Gullet and his officers during interrogation at the prison.

Toundi is struck with a rifle butt to the kidneys after refusing to cry out under beatings.

Toundi flees to Spanish Guinea to escape being killed by the whites of Dangan.

The story opens with Oyono discovering a dying man in Spanish Guinea, whose journals reveal the full tragedy of Toundi Ondoua's life. Toundi fled his violent father and became a houseboy to Father Gilbert, who taught him to read and write before dying in a motorcycle accident. Left without a protector, Toundi earned the prestigious role of houseboy to the Commandant — only for that stability to collapse when the Commandant's wife Madame arrived and began a secret affair with prison director M. Moreau. When the Commandant discovered the affair, Toundi was blamed and falsely accused of theft, leading to brutal beatings in prison. Toundi fled to Spanish Guinea, where he died from his wounds — the fatal cost of being an innocent witness to colonial hypocrisy.

The headline events driving Toundi from houseboy to fugitive.

The dying man in Spanish Guinea asks who black men who are called French truly are, then dies.

Toundi's father travels to Father Gilbert to convince his son to return home but fails.

Father Gilbert brings Toundi to Saint Peter's Catholic Mission in Dangan after completing his village tour.

Father Gilbert introduces Toundi to the white community at the Mission by calling him his masterpiece.

Father Vandermayer contracts malaria and curses wildly throughout his illness, shocking those around him.

White and native residents attend Father Gilbert's funeral while native women perform exaggerated, fake mourning.

Toundi meets Sophie, the agricultural engineer's African mistress, on his way to the European Club.

European Club owner Janopoulos releases his large dogs on African onlookers for the amusement of white spectators.

Toundi accompanies the Commandant and the agricultural engineer on a tour through the bush.

The agricultural engineer threatens Toundi that he will be punished if Sophie becomes pregnant during the tour.

Word arrives that Madame will travel to Dangan, and the Commandant reacts with apparent embarrassment.

Toundi walks with Madame to the market while native men shout sexual obscenities at them.

Toundi delivers a note to M. Moreau at the prison and witnesses two African men struck dead by rifle butts.

Kalisia is hired as a chambermaid and accuses Toundi of sleeping with Madame.

Toundi's sister begins wailing during the ransacking of his home, prompting the community women to join in protest.

The prologue establishes Toundi's death in Spanish Guinea before his journals reveal how he got there, beginning with his father's failed attempt to reclaim him from Father Gilbert. Life at the Mission shows the absurdities of colonial Christianity, while the European Club exposes the casual cruelty of whites who release dogs on African onlookers for entertainment. Toundi's role as go-between in Madame's affair deepens through his growing involvement with M. Moreau, including a visit to the prison that confronts him with the raw violence of colonial authority. As events spiral toward disaster, the community around Toundi — from the women of the African quarters to the newly hired chambermaid Kalisia — reflects both the solidarity and the powerlessness of native Cameroonians under colonial rule. These secondary scenes fill in the human cost of colonialism that the main plot alone cannot capture.

The supporting scenes revealing the texture of colonial life in Dangan.

Toundi first encounters Father Gilbert as a child while receiving gifts of candy from touring Catholic priests.

Toundi assists with Mass at Saint Peter's and observes how whites take communion separately from native Africans.

Gullet's police raid the African quarters but leave Toundi alone after learning of his position with the Commandant.

Toundi sees the Commandant fully naked in the shower and realizes the man is no longer frightening.

Toundi accompanies the Commandant to Sunday Mass and observes flirtatious behavior among whites in the pews.

Father Vandermayer's mispronounced dialect causes the African congregation to laugh throughout his sermon.

Sophie confides to Toundi during an overnight stay how the agricultural engineer treats her in private.

Madame tells Toundi directly that he is a houseboy and should not aspire above his station in life.

M. Moreau offers Toundi money and cigarettes to ensure his loyalty as a go-between for the affair.

Toundi tears up the money given to him by M. Moreau rather than accept the bribe.

The doctor's wife secretly visits Madame to warn her that the Commandant does not yet know about the affair.

Toundi finds used condoms under Madame's bed while cleaning, and Madame catches him sweeping them up.

Servants warn Toundi that he has put himself in grave danger by witnessing what he was never meant to see.

Kalisia urgently warns Toundi to flee Dangan before the whites seek revenge on him for knowing their secrets.

The African Sergeant Mendim covers Toundi with animal blood and coaches him on how to appear already beaten.

Toundi's story is shaped by a series of quiet but decisive revelations, beginning with his childhood fascination with candy-giving priests and his gradual assimilation into Mission life. A private glimpse of the Commandant's body strips the powerful man of his mystique, while Father Vandermayer's comical blunders expose the hollowness of colonial religious authority. Madame's direct warning that Toundi should not rise above his station and Moreau's attempted bribery reveal the impossible position Toundi occupies as a witness to the affair. The discovery of condoms under Madame's bed becomes the point of no return, as servants and finally Kalisia warn Toundi that the whites will never forgive him for knowing what he knows. Even the unexpected mercy of the African Sergeant Mendim cannot save Toundi from the violence that his innocence and refusal to comply will ultimately cost him.