This is a story of Africa, shown at its cruelest and most tender moments. It is also a story of violence set against the breathtaking beauty of the land, where cicadas sing their interminable song, and elephants gambol in mud holes.

It is a story of vengeance and endurance, not about black versus white, but of resistance to the winds of change, the drawing in of empires, and the global trend towards righting past wrongs. It is where Sergeant Bob Wilson and his men fight a war they know they cannot win, but fight it anyway, because it is their job.

Appalling events personalise the conflict into a brutal contest between the best man each side has to offer: Sergeant Wilson against Chaka, the leader of a terrorist band. Severely wounded and taken across the border for interrogation, Sergeant Wilson is beyond pain.

Bob’s fiancee Sally Ferguson attempts to discover where he is being held. With the ill-conceived idea of rescuing Bob, she instead finds herself in a life-and-death situation. This is also a story of love and passion.

The novel is unremitting in its action. The truth is, much of this story could easily have taken place in real life. Set in Nyanga, a make-believe African nation, those who have been in Africa will know where this country is.

Born in Portsmouth, England, Tom Edwards is the author of 15 books. If I Should Die was the first, followed by No Greater Freedom, which both won Reader’s Choice awards. A naval veteran, serving on the high seas and for 25 years in Africa, the author now lives in Australia.