Le coup de lune

the long version

"Tropic Moon is set in the early 1930s in French West Africa, where the promise of opportunity runs up against the stark realities of brutal racism and boundless corruption. A young Frenchman, Joseph Timar, travels to Gabon carrying a letter of introduction from an influential uncle. He wants work experience; he wants to see the world. It turns out, though, that no one in the tightknit colonial community has the least bit of use for him - except, that is, Adele, the hotel owner's wife, who takes him to bed one day and ignores him the next, leaving him sick with desire. But then, in the course of a couple of nights, a black servant is shot and Adele's husband dies. Timar is sure that Adele is implicated. If he holds his tongue, maybe she'll do his bidding. The fix is in. But Timar can't even begin to imagine how deep."--Jacket.