First published 2015
Frank McAllister sits in his London home, wealthy but troubled. He abandoned his middle name Retief years ago, trying to distance himself from his ancestor Piet Retief, the Afrikaner leader killed by Zulu king Dingane in 1838. His daughter Lucinda returns from California rehab with a mysterious boy in tow. She had supported Frank through his bitter divorce, but the family conflict destroyed her. Now Frank plans a trip to his South African beach house near the site of his ancestor's massacre. His new partner and her son will join them. During quiet moments at the coast, Frank digs into what actually happened that day in 1838. He questions the family myth that paints Piet Retief as a Moses figure leading his people to safety. Frank suspects darker truths about his ancestor's death and its connections to apartheid violence. As he uncovers the past, present dangers creep closer to his own family.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-literature, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, unreliable-narrator
Setting: California, London, South Africa
Period: 1838, 20th-century, 21st-century
256 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury USA
Content warnings: colonialism, racism