Hard to Assume '' typifies the indomitable spirit of Karen Nduku, a young woman, born of a teacher and his student, in the wake of their one-night fling. The novel is a spellbinding work of fiction premised on post-independent Kenya. It is a storybook that is replete with many intrigues. The book portrays, in words, various characters whose mode of behavior, or ways of thought can stretch a reader's imagination to dizzying heights.The story begins in January 1964, with the first term opening in Agatha Girls High School built at the foot of Kyulu hills in Makueni, Kamba land.