When mild-mannered philosophy professor Lowell Cabot Day lands in Africa, he finds himself embroiled in international conflict after accidentally wounding a belligerent German officer. Forced to flee into the interior with his life at risk, the scholar relies on his wits and knowledge of Herbert Spencer's teachings to gain the trust of local tribes. Crowning himself leader, Day rules the land he dubs his personal "Spencerian commonwealth," setting the stage for a showdown with warring European powers.