The ‘scramble for Africa’ is under way. British colonists already control most of the territory between the Zambezi and the Cape. Only the kingdom of Zululand remains independent.
The threat of invasion is ever present, and thirty thousand warriors stand ready to defend their king.
Nomguqo Dlamini, a Swazi princess, serves in King Cetshwayo’s household, tending the needs of the many royal wives and their children. Her life is made miserable by the bullying of one of her hut-mates. However, the king values her discreet presence and invites her to be his personal handmaid. In this position, she observes first-hand eye the discussions in the royal council.
Mehlokazulu kaSihayo Ngobese, one of the king’s attendants, takes it upon himself to punish his adulterous mother living openly with her lover across the border in British-protected Natal. His trespass is used by the government in Cape Colony to justify its invasion.
As Cetshwayo puts his country on a war footing, an unlikely relationship develops between Nomguqo and Mehlokazulu.
On the 11 January 1879, British forces cross the border into Zululand forcing Cetshwayo to mobilise his regiments to confront the invading British.
The first military action at iSandlwana produces an overwhelming Zulu victory. Mehlokazulu distinguishes himself but in succeeding battles has to lead his warriors against insuperable odds. Inferior weaponry and indiscipline in their ranks eventually lead to the catastrophic destruction of the Zulu army.
Endowed with second sight, Nomguqo has ‘visions’ of these battlefields. When these turn out to be prophetic, she’s accused of having supernatural powers and her life is put under threat.
In the vacuum left by the Zulu defeat, competing factions become polarised until all-out civil war breaks out. In the restoration of Cetshwayo’s monarchy, Mehlokazulu and Nomguqo are reunited. They plan for the future. But is their love strong enough to survive the chaos and anarchy left by war? copyright Christopher Lloyd King