MARGIN OF ERROR

The full circle of Flight TDF 391 from London to Damba encloses not only these aboard but those waiting for them on arrival and those who have sent them on their way. VIPs are Chalk, Flower and Finkelstein, MPs en route to investigate North African riots; there is frail Father Michael, Lady Emily, Mrs. Bradshaw, ten year old James Pilgrim and John Fenton -- all to be confronted with desperate reality when their plane, 800 miles off the course, crashes and burns in a forced landing. Little Father Michael dies, Fenton takes charge and sees the surviving group through to safety. While in England and in Damba, the personal and public issues tighten and resolve, as a young native confesses to a murder for which Father Michael has been his alibi of innocence; as James' mother persuades the woman who had provoked a scandal in Fenton's life to give up her pursuit and as foreign policy is examined at home. Explicit political commentary runs through the colonials' stories and a spiritual magnifying glass examines the adults committed to the adventure, so that the whole, although not in perfect cohesion, is a multiple personality portrait.