In The Empty Grave, Amaefule Patrick presents the reader with an imaginary African country, the Republic of Halibiana, where the politicians under the presidency of Dr. Muzulata see politics as the acquisition of stupendous wealth and running of an unbridled misgovernance. A group of young soldiers stationed at the country's border with another imaginary African country, the Federal Republic of Garindo, where a border war has been going on, stage a military coup but fail to overthrow President Muzulata as he escapes through a tunnel from the statehouse under bombardment. However, they capture the First Lady and her daughter, who, though had earlier escaped with the other members of the first family through the tunnel, have returned out of greed to carry huge amount of dollars and jewelries stashed in the statehouse while fighting is still going on in and around the statehouse. Though the coup fails and the coupists are surrounded in the statehouse by the Army, they have the First Lady and her daughter as captives and threaten to kill them should the statehouse be stormed.In the few weeks following the coup, a series of national crises lead to Lieutenant General Hubanata, the greedy and corrupt commander of the joint chiefs of defense staff, shoving the president aside in a bloodless coup and becoming the country's new leader. His regime is short-lived as a group of military officers opposed to the very corrupt Lieutenant General Hubanata running and ruining the country further stage another violent coup, being the third in a few weeks, to stop the corrupt Lieutenant General Hubanata before he can consolidate his grip on power.