Imprisoned for ten years for his activism, Prof, as he is popularly known, returns from prison a broken man. Unable to relate to the country he once fought for, he resolves to live a life of darkness, pushing away friends and family, and embracing his status as an urban legend in the neighbourhood, until a knock at the door shakes his new existence. His new visitor is Desire, an enigmatic young woman who has grown up idolising Prof following a fateful encounter in her hometown of Maroko as a child. Tentatively, they form a complicated friendship, that grows from debates about life and politics, to their personal histories. However, the darkness of the room becomes a steady torment, as Prof's inability to face his demons threatens to drive Desire away from good. A Small Silence is an intimate and evocative exploration of Nigeria's political history, the alienating effects of trauma and the restorative power of the dark and silence.
