Set in the days of the Empire, with the British ruling in Burma, Orwell's book describes corruption and imperial bigotry. Flory, a white timber merchant, befriends Dr. Veraswami, a black enthusiast for the Empire, whose downfall can only be prevented by membership at an all-white club.

Orwell draws on his years of experience in India to tell this story of the waning days of British imperialism. A handful of Englishmen living in a settlement in Burma congregate in the European Club, drink whiskey, and argue over an impending order to admit a token Asian.

George Orwell’s triumphant first novel. Informed by his experiences as a police officer in Burma, the novel paints a vivid portrait of the waning days of British imperial rule, and the racism and corruption that ran rampant. It centres on John Flory, a European businessman in colonial Burma, disenfranchised by the bigotry he sees around him and his persistent feeling of being out of place.