Failing to take heed of warnings, in 2033 devastating population growth, famine and mass internal displacement pushes Africa to the brink of all out conflict. Many of the continent's animals are wiped out due hunting and the ever-warming climate. The ballooning population fought over fewer and fewer food and water resources. Reeling from environmental catastrophe, national governments are unable to cope with the devastation and an emergency session of the African Union is called. By an overwhelming majority the AU decides to create a federation of African States. The new state is called Grand Afrique. The first major initiative to revive the climate is the instituting of an annual cull of four million men. Soon the policy is successful, and the continent’s wildlife begins to flourish again. In 2064 a nascent freedom movement led by the ‘Ladies in White’ is fighting for the emancipation of the condemned men and to put an end to the human cull.