Cry Wolf

Name: Cry Wolf
Rating: 4.2 (5255 reviews)

by Wilbur Smith

First published 1976

Amazon

4.2(5,255)

Ethiopia, 1935. American engineer Jake Barton and British arms dealer Gareth Swales agree to deliver obsolete armoured vehicles to an Ethiopian prince as Italy prepares to invade. The mission takes place during Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia, when League of Nations sanctions and an international arms embargo failed to prevent Italian conquest.

International restrictions, difficult terrain and the rapid advance of Mussolini’s forces turn the commercial expedition into participation in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The travellers must decide whether profit, loyalty or resistance will determine their actions. The obsolete vehicles become symbols of the unequal war, but Jake and Gareth’s motives remain divided between profit, loyalty and genuine resistance to fascist expansion.