Fire on the Horizon

South Africa, 1899. Penrod Ballantyne is sent to Mafeking to recruit and train defenders as war approaches between Britain and the Boer republics. Amber accompanies him until the outbreak of fighting forces civilians to seek safety. The defence of Mafeking makes preparation, supply and civilian morale as important as conventional battle, while the wider war divides communities across the Cape, Natal and the Boer republics.

Ryder and Saffron Courtney support the British war effort from Cape Town, but their son Leon stows away for the front. The two families are drawn into the opening campaigns of the Second Boer War, where political loyalty and family protection demand conflicting choices. Leon’s decision to seek action without understanding its consequences allows the younger generation to experience imperial warfare without the authority or protection enjoyed by their parents.