Good Hope to Guardafui tells the story, after war service and Rhodes University in South Africa, of the author's time in the Colonial Service in Somaliland; that included time in Ethiopia under the 1954 Agreement and the trials involved. A short spell as Northern Rhodesia became Zambia led eventually to the author's return to Southern Rhodesia. Twelve years Government service there and the bush war were followed by a happy retirement as that country became Zimbabwe.

The book is a light-hearted account, with some more serious episodes, particularly those concerning Ethiopia. It concentrates on the amusing, fascinating and interesting incidents. This applies particularly to service in the Somaliland Protectorate about which little has been written in a humorous vein.