I am the mouth of your Emperor Menelik, King of Kings, Lion of Judah, hear me! With the help of God I will defend the inheritance of my forefathers and drive back the invader by force of arms.
When a jealous former lover destroys the happiness of Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, Amber Benbrook, their vision of a shared future shatters.
Searching for purpose, Amber travels to Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. Seeking their fortune, they undertake the dangerous journey to Addis Ababa, but they soon find they may have risked losing everything to a powerful new ruler - Menelik II, the King of Kings.
Back in Cairo, a devastated Penrod seeks oblivion in the city's opium dens. He is rescued by an old friend, who is a member of the Italian army, and offered the chance to join the military effort. Italy has designs on Abyssinia, and there are rumours of a plan to invade
With storm clouds gathering, and on opposing sides of the invasion, can Penrod and Amber find their way back to one another - against all the odds?
Wilbur Smith's two most powerful families, the Courtneys and the Ballantynes, meet once again in the long-awaited sequel to his worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun.
