For lovers of Africa, this is a fine example of Wilbur Smith's carefully crafted tale of the safari. The conflict between brother and sister plays a strong role as the plot develops, and there are interesting and exciting word pictures of life in the 1800's in South Africa. Set in 1860, the war clouds are gathering in America over the slavery question, and this novel depicts this worst of human injustices within the Africa subcultures. Sailing ships from America are exempt from British attempts to quell slave trading. The intrepid brother seeks a fortune of gold (and elephants) while his equally strong sister seeks to find their lost father in the wild land.

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