Fire on the Horizon

A familiar foe. A battle for the heart of a country at war with itself.

By Wilbur Smith and Imogen Robertson

Fire on the Horizon – South Africa, 1899

The smouldering hostility between the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal is about to burst into flame. War is coming and no one can prevent it.

Colonel Penrod Ballantyne, hero of Abu Klea and Omdurman, is sent to Mafeking, ‘the place of stones’, to recruit and train men for the fighting ahead.

Survival against impossible odds

Amber, his wife, the successful novelist, accompanies him – eager to see more of the country her husband is about to risk his life for. But when war is declared, Amber must flee with their baby son and pray for her husband’s survival against impossible odds.

Eight hundred miles to the south, in Cape Town, Ryder Courtney is using his wealth to support the British war effort. Ryder, an adventurer, maverick and industrialist, has powerful connections. His artist wife, Saffron, frustrated by Cairo society, has joined him with their three children.

There is peace in the Courtney household, or so Saffron believes. This peace is shattered when their eldest son, Leon, stows away on a train to the front line. Leon is determined to join his distinguished uncle, Penrod Ballantyne, and change the course of history. Saffron and Ryder are forced to leave the safety of the Cape Colony and follow Leon. Leon believes his parents lack honour and courage. Yet, he does not realise he cannot escape the people they once were.

Two families torn apart, caught up in a battle for the heart of a country at war with itself.

About the authors – Fire On The Horizon

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa in 1933. He became a full-time writer in 1964 after the success of When the Lion Feeds. Since then, he has published over fifty global bestsellers, including the Courtney Series, the Ballantyne Series and the Egyptian Series. In addition, his works also include the Hector Cross Series and many successful standalone novels. All his books are meticulously researched, inspired by his worldwide expeditions. Over fifty-five years, his readership grew into an international phenomenon. This established him as one of the world’s most successful and impressive brand authors.

Imogen Robertson studied languages at Cambridge and was a TV director before her first novel Instruments of Darkness was published in 2009. She is the author of The Crowther and Westerman crime series and The Paris Winter. Her novels have been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger three times.