First published 1973
Margaret stands at the edge of the Tsavo plains, watching dust devils spiral across the red earth. She came to Kenya as a young bride, following her husband to this harsh land where elephants thunder through acacia groves and lions hunt in the thorny scrubland. The wilderness demands everything from those who try to make it home. Margaret learns to read the sky for rain, to listen for the distant rumble that means elephants are moving toward water. Her husband struggles with the farm while she finds herself drawn deeper into the rhythms of this ancient landscape. The Africans who work their land know secrets about surviving here that no colonial manual can teach. As drought tests everyone's endurance and the animals grow desperate, Margaret must choose between the safety of civilization and the raw truth of a land that transforms everyone it touches.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, africa
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Tsavo, Kenya
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
256 pages · Hardcover · The Bobbs- Merrill Company