Mountolive is the third volume of Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet, set in Alexandria, Egypt, during the 1940s. The events of each lush and sensuous novel are seen through the eyes of the central character L.G. Darley, who observes the interactions of his lovers, friends, and acquaintances. The style in Mountolive is simpler and more objective -and the reader is introduced to themes of power and political intrigue. The main character, David Mountolive, English diplomat and representative of a different world, realizes that it is impossible to act freely, that man lives trapped somehow in the circle of events and history.