The hero of the story is Edward Laurence, an 18-year-old living on a farm in South Africa. The date is in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. The boy is sent off on a shopping expedition which will take several days, but when he gets back he finds that there has been an attack on the farm, his father and mother are dead, and all the stock has been taken away. He goes to the neighbouring farm, and finds that the same applies there, except that he realises that the young 12-year old daughter, Nell, has been taken away alive. Edward's father had always spent the profits on improving the breeding-stock, so Edward has very little money in hand. He goes to a town where he has friends, and one of them advises him to spend what he has on setting up an expedition to the north, where he may be able to get enough ivory and hides to make a good profit. And, it is suggested, he may even be able to get gold, silver and diamonds.Edward sets up this expedition, and sets off. We will not spoil the story for you except to say that he spends some time on the way with a witch-doctor, who is able to conjure up for him a vision of where little Nell is. His adventures thereafter are many and various, and some of them are hair's-breadth escapes from very dangerous situations.Collingwood is a superb writer, with a magnificent power of description, so it is a very nice book to read or listen to........