1820. The coast of Madagascar. A ship on fire in the night. Ralph Courtney would have sold his soul for revenge. At last, fate has given him what he craves. The man he believes murdered his father stands defenceless as his ship burns around them. His only plea, that Ralph spare his wife and infant son . . . 1829. Mahikeng Mission Station. Highveld, southern Africa. The warrior king is dead. Ralph Courtney and Ann Waite have escaped. From the chaos and bloodshed that consumed the Zulu nation after the murder of King Shaka. From Ralph’s enemies. From the man who would have enslaved Ann and sold her to the highest bidder. Now Ralph and Ann, and their son Harry, are safe. Rescued by the missionaries at Mahikeng, they can finally dream of a new life. Or can they . . . ? For what awaits them is a journey of unimaginable horrors, that will take Ralph from the bandit outposts on the border of Cape Colony, across oceans, and into the dark heart of the brutal system by which the British Crown imposes obedience on its subjects, while Ann is drawn inexorably back into her old life in Zululand.
