The Winds That Blow Before the Rains

Book excerpt: An African freedom fighter, a Special Forces soldier and the woman who loved them both.It is the summer of 1972 and Zimbabwe is at war. Amid the violence, Sengamo is framed for the rape of a white girl. He is forced toflee his village kraal for the killing fields of Mozambique, where an enemy soldier spares his life in a chance encounter that has far reaching consequences.Isabella lives a quiet life, alone on a remote farm in the hills of Nyanga. But her peaceful world is threatened when Mugabe'shenchmen set up camp in the valley, waiting for their chance to strike and reclaim the land. Despite the danger, she refuses to abandon the home she loves and the ghosts that inhabit it. One day a stranger arrives at the farm. It is the start of a love affair that will change Isabella s world forever and bring Sengamo closer to his destiny.Out of the brutality of Zimbabwe emerges a hauntingly beautiful love story; an unforgettable tale of a tragic country, whereextraordinary allegiances triumph over segregation.