Phones at War is a psychological study of man and the impact of technology on his behavior, his fortunes, and his misfortunes in the age of incredible advances in science and technology. The novel opens with Tamunotonye, one of the dominant characters in the drama, sharing his joy and excitement about a telephone conversation that he had with Erefaa, the hero of the story, with his younger sister Mamina—Mamina is the mother of our heroine Ibife. Ibife, which translates to good market or a product of very good quality, also via the instrumentality of the telephone is a product of the age of the machine.