The High Country

In the brave, colourful days of Livingstone and Stanley two young Europeans from very different backgrounds, Adrian Barclay and Kurt von Schlieben, explore the fabled high country of East Africa — and discover paradise. With the responsibility of caring for his mother and his sister weighing heavily, Adrian is back home and desperate to return to the lands he yearns for. In an unprecedented move he attempts to return to Arica with his family. When his plans are interrupted by a wealthy businessman’s beautiful daughter, Adrian finds himself at the mercy of the law and this is when Schlieben begins to show his true colours.

A haunting account of caution and humanity begins to unravel... The voyage that follows sends all those involved on a perilous journey of courage, revenge and above all, the unbreakable ties of true love. As Adrian struggles to prevent the brutality, racism and threat of occupation that is deemed necessary to maintain authority, a poignant battle against colonisation ensues. Adrian Barclay and Kurt von Schlieben approach the high country as opportunity and paradise, but their expedition and competing loyalties reveal how exploration becomes settlement, racial hierarchy and armed occupation.