It's been a long time since the novel's inception, and we're now introduced to the protagonist's father, the president of the Republic of the Congo. He's just returned from a trip to the Congo, and he's here to visit his daughter, who's in the middle of an autograph session with a famous lawyer. The father-son conversation is interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door, and the father asks his son-in-law if he'd like to have a drink with him. The young man says he'll have one later, but first he wants to talk to his mom. The two of them reminisce about their childhoods together, and they agree that the future father of their daughter is a "good boy" .