Robert Beckford travels to Ghana to look into the reasons why a country rich in natural resources and independent for fifty years is one of the poorest countries in the world. Looks at the economic and social problems caused by the activities of multinationals, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and particularly at the rice, cocoa and gold trades. Considers issues such as child-labor, poverty caused by rice imports, and people living in highly polluted areas around gold mines.