A Scottish doctor is hired to become the personal physician of Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. A Scottish doctor is hired to become the personal physician of Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. Nicholas just finished medicine and decides to go to Uganda to practice in a small community hospital. He arrives at a time when Uganda has just appointed a new president, Idi Amin, a charismatic man who promises a better country for Ugandans. When Amin has a road accident, NIcholas is asked to treat him. Amin is impressed and offers him the job of personal physician. Soon he is in Amin's inner circle, and goes with the dictator everywhere and is asked for advice. He is treated lavishly, but soon he learns Amin's eccentricities and scary behavior. There are hints that Amin executes those who displeases him, and Nicholas turns a blind eye to this. He also experiences Amin's mood swings from pure cheerfulness to violent rage. Nicholas befriends Amin's third wife Kay, whose son he treats for epilepsy. Soon they have an affair. When Kay gets pregnant with Nicholas' baby, her attempted abortion is discovered by Amin, and she is brutally dismembered. Nicholas is tortured by Amin but he survives. During a hijacking crisis by the Palestinians of an Israeli plane, Amin allows sanctuary for the terrorists at his airport, there Nicholas escapes with the passengers, and finally leaves Uganda. In the world media, Amin is outed for the insane leader that he is, and he is driven into exile until his death in 2003.
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Best part of story, including ending:
It shows how a regular man can be seduced by power only to find out that he is falling into a trap.
Opinion about the main character:
Nicholas was a fool to believe that he is above Amin's rage. He should've known from the start that Amin was mentally unstable.
