François, how many men up at the face?' 'Cave-in.' François's voice was now hysterically shrill. 'Cave-in.' He broke Sean's grip and raced away towards the lift station, the mud flying from his gumboots. His terror infected Sean and he ran a dozen paces after François before he stopped himself. For precious seconds he wavered with fear slithering round like a reptile in his stomach; go back to call the others and perhaps die with them or follow François and live. Into the wilds of Natal in the 1870s are born Sean and Garrick Courtney, the twin brothers who could not be more different. Fate, war and the jealous schemes of a woman are to drive them even further apart. But as history unfolds a continent is awakening. And on its horizon is the promise of fortune, adventure, destiny and love... 'Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared' The Times