In this epic African adventure, Wilbur Smith returns to his longest-running series—and the very beginnings of the Courtney family saga in the late 17th century—with co-author Giles Kristian.

"Vintage Smith...newcomers to Smith and old fans alike will have their swashes well and truly buckled." (Daily Mail)

Henry "Hal" Courtney has always lived at sea. He watched his own father executed during the Anglo-Dutch naval war, and spent his entire young adulthood avenging his father's death.

Now a truce has been made between the warring countries and Hal is captain of his own ship—the Golden Bough. From the slave markets of Zanzibar to the pirate-riddled waters of the Indian Ocean, Hal leads his crew in and out of the waves of danger. But he soon realizes that just because the war is over, does not mean the battle is won, and the more a man achieves, the more he has to lose. For now Hal faces a much more personal enemy bent on revenge.

Wilbur Smith burst onto the international scene in 1964 with his debut novel, When the Lion Feeds, which introduced the Courtney family to listeners around the world. Subsequent Courtney novels traced the fortunes, and misfortunes, of this sprawling, ambitious family, from the dawn of the 18th century to the late 20th century, from Natal in South Africa through Rhodesia and up through East Africa.

"Best historical novelist—I say Wilbur Smith." (Stephen King)

"Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared." (The Times)

"No one does adventure like Wilbur Smith." (Daily Mirror)

"Smith is a master." (Publishers Weekly)