Jack Hopkins is enjoying life with his neighborhood buddies in the Bronx until his counselor at the unemployment office threatens to cut off his benefits, his landlord gives him an eviction notice, and his girlfriend delivers an ultimatum to find a job and lose fifty pounds. To prove he is seriously looking for work, he answers an ad in The Economist for an airport manager in Africa, though his only relevant experience has been in fueling planes at LaGuardia. By a freak accident he gets the job, and he travels to Jabra in southern Sudan where the airport is located. With his generous, outgoing personality he makes friends and motivates the workers at the airport. Then he meets Jenelle, a dedicated teacher at the Catholic elementary school, and he falls in love with her. Their happy time together is cut short when an army from the north invades the area, ruthlessly killing men, women, and children, and Jack is thrust into the role of saving what remains of the world that Jenelle revealed to him.