In the early 1980s, Libyan forces crossed the border into Chad to help one side in the civil war raging in the country. France, the former colonial power in Chad, moved to thwart that alliance and the United States, alarmed to see Libya, a Soviet client, threatening to control more of the African continent, had its own interest in blocking the Libyans.&nbsp;<br />&ldquo;Out of Season&rdquo; is a fictional account of the three-way interplay among the intelligence services but includes many real facts and events of that period.&nbsp;<br />The novel also looks at the legacy of colonialism and its corrosive effects on the native populations; the relative power of beliefs; and how seemingly small choices made in anger can have life-altering consequences.