Rusesabagina introduces himself as the man who risked his life to save the lives of over 1,200 people by sheltering them in the hotel he manages in the mist of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

Rusesabagina rues the failure of Rwanda to rise above hatred between its two main ethnicities, Tutsis and the Hutus, since the idea that these are identities are in conflict is a baseless “leftover from history” (x)—a divide installed and exploited by 19th century European colonizers and 20th century Western democracies. Nevertheless, in the late spring and early summer of 1994, this division becomes “the difference between life and death” (x), as Rwanda descends into genocidal chaos.

Rusesabagina describes horrors like the injured dying slowly from wounds and “perhaps looking at their own severed limbs” (xi). He explains that he is able to protect 1,268 people because of the skills he developed during his career in the hospitality industry. Relying on hotelier knowledge and his own personal charm, Rusesabagina reasons with marauders the same way he would calm unhappy hotel guests. He asks his large circle of professional acquaintances for help. Ultimately, he writes that “the only thing that saved those 1,268 people in my hotel was words” (xv).