The Burning Shore

France during the First World War. Centaine de Thiry falls in love with pilot Michael Courtney after he crashes near her family home. His death leaves her pregnant and without security as the fighting and destruction continue. The opening combines the Western Front and the First World War air campaign before shifting into the dangerous post-armistice movement of civilians and shipping.

Centaine attempts to reach the Courtneys in South Africa but is shipwrecked near the Skeleton Coast. Her survival in the desert and encounter with local communities begin a new branch of the family saga during the transition from war to the interwar period. Centaine’s survival on the Skeleton Coast transforms a European war story into the foundation of a southern African dynasty built through endurance, secrecy and control of mineral wealth.