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A decade on from "Grasping the Nettle," Loretta Bustamante still doesn't really believe that James Hacking has finally got Africa out of his system.
Having lost virtually all possessions in Zimbabwe after white rule collapsed in Rhodesia, the rolling stone has slowly and painstakingly gathered moss again, but the hooks of his birthplace are strong and sharp.
He and Loretta own and operate a small continental transport company from Lancashire in the UK, but find driving the big vehicles on British roads and in British weather stressful and demanding after the space and sunny climates of southern Africa where they grew up.
And unwittingly, they also haven't covered their tracks well enough from a dangerous implacable enemy with a wide network of connections..
Worried that James might still return to Southern Africa and convinced that it would be a retrograde step financially and emotionally for both of them, Loretta does her best to keep him in the relative, if somewhat less exciting, safety of Britain.
Having encouraged him to return to aviation and re-open a contentious disused airfield near Liverpool for private and commercial use, she is dismayed to find that he has started a yet more risky venture to pay for it, by bidding for and securing a fuel transport contract in Iraq.
Their solid relationship begins to fray at the edges, the tension increased by rumours from a young South Africa woman running a crop-spraying operation in Johannesburg and a downed pilot in Libya about and an organized crime syndicate threatening President Primrose Mpofu's stable Zimbabwean regime.
Primrose and her advisor Simon Ndhlovu having become aware of the plot to overthrow her, begin rallying support and contact James, widening the rift between he and Loretta as their own adversary closes in, bringing them into confrontation with the same vicious crime-gang operating out of Southern Africa.
Backed by a ruthless world power disguising neo-colonialism as friendship and support but really greedy for the potential riches of the former British colony, the shadowy head of the Black Mambas syndicate unexpectedly traces James and Loretta to the UK and driven by loathing opts to lead the hunt himself despite dissension from senior government-level members of the criminal organization.
Under pressure of events Loretta has to concede that their own safety and the future of their family and friends needs to be protected, and against all instincts not to get involved, gives James her blessing to travel to Johannesburg before it is too late.
He lands at Oliver Tambo airport as the South African government calls a state of emergency to combat organized crime, and a difficult mission becomes almost infinitely more complicated.
Always feeling one step behind events but determined to unravel the truth behind some very murky situations, James is beset with surprises both good and bad.
Contacting and sharing information and resources with influential "green men" from the past finally enables him to go on the offensive against the stalking assassin, unexpectedly revealing crucial details of the coup planned against Zimbabwe and precipitating a scramble to prevent civil wars in two nations.
For more information and short stories see www.gordonorr.net.
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