South Africa, 1899 - the smouldering hostility between the Boers and the British colonies is about to burst into flame. Colonel Penrod Ballantyne - hero of Abu Klea and Omdurman - is sent to Mafeking to prepare for the coming storm. His wife Amber accompanies him, 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 away, in Cape Town, Ryder Courtney is using his wealth to bankroll the British war effort. When his son Leon stows away on a train to the front line, determined to join his uncle Penrod in changing the course of history, Ryder and his wife Saffron have no choice but to leave the safety of the Cape Colony and follow. Leon is convinced that his parents are without honour, that only his uncle understands him - he is about to discover just how wrong he can be.