Wilbur Smith · 1985 · survival

Wilbur Smith's 1985 Courtney saga. In the trenches of the First World War, the Frenchwoman Centaine falls in love with a South African airman - and when he is killed, she sails for his homeland carrying his child. But a U-boat sinks her ship off the desolate Skeleton Coast of South West Africa, and Centaine must survive a brutal trek across the Namib desert with two San hunters.

1. 1
   France

   On her family's estate behind the Western Front, the young Frenchwoman Centaine loses her heart to Michael Courtney, a South African pilot - and when the war claims him, she sails for Africa carrying his child.

2. 2
   Skeleton Coast

   A German U-boat torpedoes her ship off the Skeleton Coast, and Centaine is cast ashore alone on one of the most desolate coastlines on earth - a graveyard of wrecks between the cold Atlantic and the burning dunes.

3. 3
   Namib Desert

   Near death, she is found by two old San hunters, O'wa and H'ani, who lead her on a punishing trek through the waterless Namib - a journey of survival that carries her toward a fortune in diamonds and a new life.