This romantic novel is set in Lusaka during the turbulent months before Northern Rhodesia gained independence as Zambia in 1964. Beryl goes to join her husband, Henry, who works there. She has been staying with his parents, in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, for several months and hopes to have a home of her own at last. Henry introduces her to his mainly-expatriate colleagues and their girlfriends, but life in Lusaka is not what Beryl expected. She is drawn into the lives and loves of this motley group of young people, who know that their way of life is about to change forever. Beryl struggles to save her marriage but she experiences times of intense loneliness and fear before finally deciding where her true destiny lies.