An epic journey in a wild and wonderful land, where superstition collides with faith and a victim of violence seeks revenge.
Thirty years of Kenya's turbulent history unfolds through the eyes of Caroline, a privileged woman in the agricultural highlands, and Charles Ondiek, a farm labourer with hopes of an Oxford education.
His passion for Caroline's friend Teresa, daughter of a hated settler farmer, leads to a drama of psychological terror fuelled by Mau Mau oath administrator, Mwangi, who is held for six years in a detention camp. On his release he forces Charles and Teresa apart, then turns his attention to Caroline. But she has inner resources, and joins with Charles to seek out a mysterious ancestral cave.
Against the brooding backdrop of Kenya’s beautiful but hostile desert, a curse is finally broken. But when Caroline discovers the hidden reason for Mwangi’s hatred, she wonders if she'll ever, really, belong in the country she loves.