In the 1970s, Heather Rosser and her husband lived in Mubi, a remote border town on the foothills of Nigeria's Mandara Mountains where small hill tribes lived in harmony with their neighbours from the plains.Inspired by her own experiences of childbirth, Heather embarked on a quest to document pregnancy and childbirth customs in the area. Travelling with her baby on her back, she met traditional chiefs, witchdoctors and local midwives, blacksmiths, farmers and traders.

This is a valuable record of many of the customs and rituals that had begun to disappear even before the religious extremism and violence that blights the region today. It is also an insightful and moving memoir about the challenges faced by a British family making a life for themselves in Nigeria's Mandara Mountains.