Wilbur Smith · 1976 · overland

Wilbur Smith's 1976 adventure. In 1935, as Mussolini's armies mass to invade Ethiopia, the American engineer Jake Barton and the English rogue Gareth Swales smuggle a handful of decrepit armoured cars past the blockade to the emperor's cause. Landing on the Somali coast, they drive across the searing Danakil desert and up into the Ethiopian mountains, into the teeth of the war.

1. 1
   Djibouti

   Chancers Jake Barton and Gareth Swales strike a deal with an Ethiopian prince and run their four battered armoured cars past the Italian blockade, landing them and the journalist Vicky on the coast of Somaliland.

2. 2
   The Danakil

   The little convoy grinds across the furnace of the Danakil desert - one of the cruellest places on earth - nursing the cranky old cars over lava and salt toward the mountains, hunted all the way by Italian patrols.

3. 3
   Sardi Gorge

   Climbing the escarpment through the Sardi Gorge, they join Ras Golam and his warriors to hold the pass against Mussolini's tanks and aircraft - a hopeless, gallant fight for a country's freedom.

4. 4
   Dessie

   Beyond the gorge lies Dessie and the Ethiopian highlands, where the emperor's armies gather - and where Jake and Gareth must make their final stand as the Italian advance rolls in behind them.