"South Africa, Zimbabwe, China and Britain - In the shadow of the Cold War, a deadly secret connects three continents - and time is running out.
When a mild-mannered scientist accidentally uncovers a web of international espionage during a routine visit to Beijing, he's thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse. His only ally? A magnetic anti-apartheid activist who may have secrets of her own.
As they race to expose the truth, a veteran South African intelligence operative moves through the streets of newly-independent Zimbabwe, his mission intertwined with the machinations of a mysterious Chinese power player from Mao's inner circle. Meanwhile, a sinister collaboration between apartheid forces and rogue British intelligence agents works in the shadows to keep their nuclear conspiracy buried - at any cost.
From the neon-lit backstreets of Beijing to the wild, untamed lowveld where Zimbabwe meets South Africa, this explosive thriller weaves together Cold War tensions, political intrigue, and the threat of nuclear devastation. As these disparate threads converge, our unlikely heroes find themselves at the centre of a plot that could reshape the balance of power in the Southern Hemisphere - if they can survive long enough to expose it."
"Peter Hain’s latest thriller is grounded in real-life experience, and endorsed by global conservationists. From South Africa to Zanzibar, from Kenya to Britain, activists are battling to save lion prides, today more threatened by extinction than rhinos and elephants, as a result of illegal wildlife trading. Having thwarted murderous poachers in The Elephant Conspiracy, the Veteran, Thandi and Mkhize are back battling to save lion prides from being killed for their claws, teeth and bones. As the demand for lion parts soars, impoverished local communities are being incentivised to poach, and the fight against this illegal plunder becomes ever more vicious. Struggling to defeat the international criminal syndicate responsible for poaching, the team find themselves embroiled in mafia-style smuggling, illicit night flights, tense shoot-outs, and an encounter with a protégé of Vladimir Putin..."
"Having thwarted murderous poachers, the Veteran, Thandi and Mkhize are back in a new fight - battling to save elephant herds form being callously killed for their ivory, whilst trying to block wholesale political corruption and money laundering in contemporary South Africa.
Will dwindling elephant numbers be reversed? Will the forces of good triumph over the vicious looters? Can the annual trillion-dollar money laundering trade be brought to heel by a brave whistleblower?"
"An epic tale of corruption, collusion and courage set in contemporary South Africa.
In the South African veld poaching gangs are resorting to extreme levels of violence to hunt down valuable rhino horns. Battling to defend the dwindling rhino population, a veteran anti-apartheid freedom fighter is forced to break his lifetime loyalty to the ANC as he confronts corruption at the very highest level. The veteran and his ‘born free’ colleagues are hell bent on catching the poachers and exposing their trade but first them must establish the truth. The stakes are high. Has Mandela’s ‘rainbow nation’ been irretrievably betrayed by political corruption and cronyism? Can the country’s ancient rhino herd be saved from extinction from state-sponsored poaching?
'‘Gripping, tense and timely.’' ALAN JOHNSON
'Passionate and engaging. From a man whose tireless anti-apartheid activism supported the long struggle to free his friend and leader, Nelson Mandela.” JON SNOW
“Inspirational.” DESMOND TUTU
“His life and times told succinctly and compellingly.” SELLO HATANG, CEO, Nelson Mandela Foundation"
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