A single ball came through at deck level, It struck a burst of sparks from the steel hull, like Brocks Fireworks at Crystal palace, brilliant orange even in the strong sunlight, and the hole it tore through Black Jokes plating was fringed with bare jagged tongues of metal like the petals of a silver sunflower.

In search of a father they barely remember, Zouga and Dr Robyn Ballantyne board Mungo St John’s magnificent clipper to speed them to Africa. But long before they sight that mighty continent, Robyn knows that she and Mungo will battle with all the fury of natural enemies -- and love with all the desperation of those unable to evade the commands of fate. For if she can bring hope and healing to Africa’s fever-ridden shores, he, a lawless trader in human cargo, will possess any man -- or woman -- he chooses...