These tales are based mainly on the writings and reminiscences of Gwynneth Latham who joined her husband Donald, a yopung doctor in Tanganyika in the 1920s and 1930s. These memoirs provide a portrait of life in what is now mainland Tanzania, in the early period of that country as a British mandated territory. Offering an account of medical practice in the most extreme tropical conditions, this is the tale of an English woman who took on the important role of medical assistant to a "bush doctor". Perceptive insights into the connection between traditional medical practice and Western medicine are combined with descriptions of friendships with a wide range of people: colleagues, staff, and locals, settlers and government officials. This is above all, the story of a European family settling in Africa, confronted with new and exciting surroundings and life-changing experiences.