The Shangani Patrol (Simon Fonthill Series)

In the African Cape, Simon Fonthill—one-time subaltern and ex-captain in the North West Frontier’s Royal Corps of Guides—and his wife Alice find themselves on tribal land and at the mercy of ruthless Matabele warriors. While being held under the orders of the warrior king Lobengula, Fonthill becomes aware of a Portuguese plot to undermine a valuable treaty between Lobengula and the richest man in Africa, Cecil Rhodes. When friction develops between Rhodes and the Matabele tribesmen, Fonthill is forced to take sides. Together with Alice and his comrade 352 Jenkins, he becomes embroiled in one of the bloodiest battles in British history, the Shangani River massacre.