In South Africa, Matthew Hervey clashes with the Warrior King of the Zulus.

1828: The stability of the Cape Colony has been threatened by Xhosa tribesmen who have been making incursions across the borders. And when Hervey is told by his old friend, Sir Eyre Somervile, that the Zulu warrior king, Shaka, is about to make war on neighbouring tribes in the south of the country, he knows that matters are perilous indeed. Leaving his new wife and young daughter in England, Hervey speeds to his friend’s aid.

He and Somervile journey to meet the Zulu king, but Shaka’s royal kraal is a horrifying place. The sentinels at the gates are corpses, and it soon becomes apparent that Shaka has slaughtered thousands of his own people. Into this febrile atmosphere ride Hervey, Somervile and their escort of dragoons and mounted rifles. But the sudden death of the Zulu king plunges the region into civil war, and Hervey and his men into terrible danger.

Yet worse is to come. As Hervey leads Shaka’s queen across the veldt to safety, he knows he must cross an alien landscape where they will be hunted by wild animals — and deadly warriors.