In 1879 Lieutenant Simon Fonthill arrives in southern Africa with his reputation under a cloud. His former commanding officer has branded him a coward, and a dangerous reconnaissance mission into Zululand offers a chance to prove otherwise. Accompanied by the irrepressible Welshman ‘352’ Jenkins, Fonthill is drawn through captivity, pursuit and the catastrophic British defeat at Isandlwana before racing toward the isolated post at Rorke’s Drift with warning of the approaching Zulu army.
The novel is rooted in the opening shock of the Anglo-Zulu War, when confidence in British military superiority collided with the strength of Cetshwayo kaMpande’s kingdom. Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, fought on 22–23 January 1879, provide the historical spine of the story. Wilcox uses Fonthill’s uncertain status as a scout to move between British columns and Zulu territory, turning a well-known imperial campaign into an adventure about intelligence, survival and the consequences of underestimating an independent African power.
