Neville tells the story of his brother Victor, a Barbadian merchant and ship chandler who foresaw the coming war and stockpiled imported goods just before Britain declared war on Germany (which Neville dates to 1 September 1939). With shipping to the island cut off for two years, Victor tried to sell his stockpiled merchandise locally through the government, only to be blocked by jealous local merchants who wanted their biggest competitor and largest taxpayer left "frozen."