Togusa and Tsunagi set out for Africa to investigate a poisoning death at the Japanese consulate in the Sahel Special Economic Zone. Using their “honeymoon” as a cover, the two trace the black mamba snake venom used in the assassination to an oasis outside the zone that's part of Gili tribal lands. While they're gone, a coup rocks the Madisi Republic that governs Sahel, and General Mosey seizes control, sparking conflict with the “liberation forces” of the Gili. What does snake venom have to do with a civil war rising from the baked desert sands? That question is the key to Togusa breaking the case…