Victims of Circumstance is based on the Igbo cultural practice of Osu Caste system. In the course of the narrative, the descendants of Ezeako automatically become Osu-outcasts-following the sacrifice of their father, Ezeako, to an oracle of Ogwugwu.

Having assumed this status, the Ezeako children who have now become a village (Umuezeako) are no longer treated as free citizens but rather as social outcasts.

This discrimination culminates in the collapse of the relationship between Ego and Nduka.