It is the turn of the twentieth century and war is razing the Boer Republics of South Africa to the ground. Kitchener’s army has intensified its most barbarous campaign: to burn down the homes of thousands of obstinate Boers, forcing a desperate migration to disease-ridden concentration camps. Yet the vastly outnumbered Boers still will not surrender to the British. The arena of war is considered to be no place for a lady, but in the midst of these horrors is a group of women, each fighting their own battle. As their dramas unfold, so too does the history of the war — the events that turned what was intended to be a quick annexation of the Boer Republics into a protracted, savage conflict; the involvement of the South African blacks promised the vote if they joined the British side; and the injustices and deep inequalities in South Africa which lie at the heart of the story.