"In the Shadow of War" begins in an unknown Nigerian village. Three soldiers arrive in the afternoon, disturbing the animals that roam the streets, as they proceed to the local bar to drink palm-wine "amidst the flies."

Next, the narration turns to a young boy and his father. The father and son are at their home, which from the window offers the son, Omovo, a view of the soldiers. As the father and son listen to their old Grundig radio, which they purchased inexpensively from a family who was escaping the war, they hear news of "bombings and air raids in the interior of the country." As the father grooms and then dresses himself in a coat that is "shabby" and too small for him, Omovo continues to peer out the window. He is "irritated" with his father and is focused on looking for a...