Chapter 1: Egypt during the decline and fall of the Turkish Empire
Arrival in Alexandria Jan 1916 as a soldier with the 53rd Division; camp at Wardan; move to Suez Canal; description of the Australian Light Horse; brief outline of preceding military history of the region; advance to Palestine; Spring 1917 in Khan Yunis, and description of the military tactics and manoeuvres in the Battle of Gaza; mention of Armenian massacres; military stalemate; to Cairo for course in signalling; return to Gaza as Assistant Adjutant and Signal Officer; arrival of General Allenby and new aeroplanes; waiting for the new offensive and poker playing; move to Beersheba and eventual battle; severe rains; entering Jerusalem just before Christmas 1917; Turkish attack on Jerusalem on Boxing Day; transferred to 10th Division as adjutant of a Gunner Brigade, north of Lydda; replacement of British soldiers (transferred to France) with Indian regiments; leave in Alexandria; ill with Spanish flu; return to unit after signing of Turkish armistice; sent to Zeitoun in Cairo on a gunnery course, Nov 1918; description of celebrations and practical jokes on news of the French armistice; wildfowl shooting by the Nile at Shubra; descriptions of various incidents at Shepheard's hotel

Chapter 2: The Egyptian riots of 1919 and subsequent adventures
Egyptian rioting and looting; searching villages for stolen property after train looting; methods of finding stolen goods; description of Egyptian fellahin and Macintosh's sympathy for them as opposed to Egyptian town dwellers; peaceful demonstrations at Abbasiya, leading to gun shots and a number of dead Egyptian students and police; praise for the Cairo police; Macintosh transferred to Chatby les Bains outside Alexandria; riots in the Ras el Tin area of Alexandria and the British military charges in response; wait at Chatby les Bains for demob; entertainment for the troops; moved to Cairo as D.A.A.G with the 10th Division; then transferred to GHQ in Cairo, as A /D.A.A.G.; relative peace in Egypt; description of flights in different aeroplanes; further descriptions of sport and shooting; suggestion that he apply for the Sudan Political Service; selection committee in London summer 1921, then 3 month course in Arabic; return to Cairo for Christmas and more pigeon shooting.

Chapter 3: South to the sunny Sudan
Journey from Cairo to Sudan via Luxor and Shellal; steamer down the Nile; at Wadi Halfa transfer to Sudan Railways; description and history of Wadi Halfa; Kitchener in Sudan; description of Khartoum; appointed Assistant District Commissioner at Khartoum North; description of average day; meeting Governor-General Sir Lee Stack Pasha; description of the palace; Wingate's legacy; Sudanese slavery; descriptions of the roles in Sudanese history of Sir Samuel Baker (and wife), General Gordon, Lord Kitchener and Sir Reginald Wingate; Macintosh settling disputes; temporary transfer to Omdurman; installation of drains using prison labour; return to Khartoum North, to become District Commissioner; move to new house shared with deputy Edmund Batty; places named after Macintosh in Sudan; interesting court cases dealt with by Macintosh, including one involving a son of Zubayr Pasha

Chapter 4: The 1924 mutiny and transfer to Omdurman
1923 return from leave; White Flag League – origins and summer 1924 demonstrations; Macintosh at School of Tropical Medicine for treatment for amoebic dysentery; murder of the Governor-General Sir Lee Stack Pasha; evacuation of Egyptian troops ordered; events of 27-28 Nov 1924; Sir Geoffrey Archer becomes Governor-General of the Sudan in 1925; visit of Duke and Duchess of York; methods of solving disputes between tribes; general comments on administration and situation in other African countries, especially Rhodesia; Greek celebrations in Khartoum

Chapter 5: Westwards to Darfur
Summer 1926 Macintosh posted to Nyala in S.W. Darfur; duck-shooting at El Fasher; house in Nyala; finding a suitable horse; introductions to important locals; visit of R.T. Johnston who brought his half grown lioness Trixie with him; Rizayqat horse show; lengthy descriptions of methods employed in hunting for lions, and other big cats; visit of Sir John Maffey, the Governor-General and subsequent duck shoots; descriptions of sporting events; problems with hyenas in Nyala; visit by Macintosh's wife in December 1929; description of the government breeding scheme for horses in Nyala; building an aerodrome in Nyala; social circle; small-pox outbreak 1928 and vaccination programme; outbreak of relapsing fever; disagreement with the Governor over the appointment of an overlord for the Baqqarah; appointment as D.C. Wau

Chapter 6: Southwards to the “Bog” as the Bahr el Ghazal Province was known, a land of magic, witchcraft, and hunting
Journey up the White Nile; description of district, tribes and customs; witchcraft, spells and magic; trouble in Wau town and soil erosion in surrounding areas; administration short of money; guarantee scheme for prisoners in Wau Central Prison; hunting buffaloes; famine among the Dinka; descriptions of lion shooting, fishing and Dinka sports gatherings; cases Macintosh tried where he imposed the death penalty; industry in Wau and annual arrival of the first steamer; Macintosh and wife leave Wau in July 1934

Chapter 7: Return to the South and Mongalla (soon to become Equatoria)
New posting as Deputy Governor, Mongalla Province; description and recent history of Mongalla Province and its tribes; sporting events; period of administration by military Governors and District Commissioners; terrain, flora and fauna of Mongalla; incidents with elephants; rainmakers in the province; lengthy description of the Azande tribe; amalgamation of Mongalla and Bahr al-Ghazal provinces; the work of the missions; marriage ceremonies; Macintosh's departure in 1936; transfer back to Khartoum as Assistant Civil Secretary

Chapter 8: The Southern Sudan in retrospect
Problems of Southern Sudan, in particular with the north; legacy of slaves; Macintosh's advocacy of a Southern Sudanese state, and anger over a letter opposing this in The Times ; subsequent protests to The Times and lunch with Sir John Astor and Sir William Haley; Macintosh's ideas on the problems and possibilities of African administration; Dinka resistance to external government; religious tolerance; agricultural experiments with northern grains; Macintosh's proposals for agricultural and industrial development in Southern Sudan

Chapter 9: Khartoum once more and return to Cairo. The King and His Ministers
1937 Assistant Civil Secretary under Sir Angus Gillan; impact of 1936 Treaty with Egypt; 1938 Macintosh appointed Sudan Agent in Cairo; arranging accommodation for his family; meeting Prime Minister Muhammed Mahmud Pasha; descriptions of King Faruq and his excesses; death of the caretaker Prime Minister at opening of parliament; practice of taking inducements by Egyptian officials; 1938 visit by Shah of Persia for official engagement to King Faruq's sister

Chapter 10: Egypt's History
History of Egypt – ancient, Roman, Arab, time of the Crusades; rule of Saladin; Mamelukes; Turkish rule; Napoleon; Muhammed `Ali and successors; Great Britain's policy towards Egypt; Cromer, Gorst, Kitchener and their successors; growth of nationalism; general history of the Middle East until late 1960s

Chapter 11: The leisure of a British official in Egypt
Leisure activities, in particular centring around the Gezira Sporting Club; activities mentioned include bridge, cricket, golf, gambling and racing

Chapter 11a: Serpents on the Nile
Descriptions of snakes encountered by Macintosh while in Egypt and the Sudan

Chapter 12: British personalities in Cairo
Macintosh as Chairman of the British Charities Committee; mainly centring on Cairo during the Second World War, including references to Lord and Lady Killearn, General de Gaulle, General Wavell, Field Marshall Smuts, General Sir Hubert Huddleston, Lord Moyne, Russell Pasha, Peter Drummond, Prince Muhammad `Ali

Chapter 13: The Secretariat in Khartoum and taking leave in Cairo
1941 promotion to Governor's rank; Sudan during the Second World War; trip to Scotland in 1943 via Cairo, Benghazi, Algiers, Marrakesh and St Mawgan's; visits to Cairo and Beirut; progress of the war; evacuating European families from Cairo to Sudan

Chapter 14: Governing Khartoum Province and subsequently setting up a Labour Organisation
Rotary Club in Khartoum; female education in the Sudan; British community life in Khartoum; Clergy House and the cathedral; dispute over cultivation on the Island of Tuti; return to the Sudan in 1945 to help find work for Sudanese ex-servicemen; setting up a Trades Union

Chapter 15: Egyptian services, military, legal, educational and propaganda
Record of Egyptian Army in the 19th and 20th centuries, and reasons for failure; Egyptian jurisprudence; problems in Egyptian education

Chapter 16: Foreign opinions, the Suez Canal and U.N.O
Egyptian political history; 1952 great fire of Cairo; review of U.N.O. in Middle East peace keeping

Chapter 17: The intransigence of President Nasser and the future of the Middle East
Coup d'état of 1952; attempt to abolish bribery; failure of agrarian policy; assessment of Nasser's rule