WINNER: Moore Prize 2021
‘A beautiful, moving and important book’ Simon Reeve

Veronica is a teenager when civil war erupts in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country. Lonely and friendless after the death of her father, she finds solace in her first boyfriend, and together they flee across the city when fighting breaks out.
On the same night Daniel, the son of a colonel, also makes his escape, but finds himself stranded beside the River Nile, alone and vulnerable.
Lilian is a young mother who runs for her life holding the hand of her little boy, Harmony – until a bomb attack wrenches them apart and she is forced to trek on alone.
After epic journeys of endurance, these three young people’s lives cross in Bidi Bidi in Uganda – the world’s largest refugee camp. There they meet James, a counsellor who helps them find light and hope in the darkest of places.
In a gripping true-life narrative, Rosalind Russell tells their stories with uplifting empathy and tenderness.

‘Engages our hearts with vivid and moving stories…written with extraordinary clarity, compassion and impact’
‘A beautiful, moving and important book about survival and the power of the human spirit’ -- Simon Reeve
‘A captivating…compelling chronicle of the refugee experience of displacement, loss and hope’ -- Ka’edi Africa
‘Powerful and moving…stays in your memory long after you have put it back on your bookshelf’ -- Publishing Post
‘A harrowing, intimate examination of civil war’s toll’ -- Kirkus Reviews
‘A beautiful, moving and important book about survival and the power of the human spirit’ - Simon Reeve || ‘A captivating…compelling chronicle of the refugee experience of displacement, loss and hope’ - Ka’edi Africa || ‘A harrowing, intimate examination of civil war’s toll’ - Kirkus Reviews || ‘Engages our hearts with vivid and moving stories…written with extraordinary clarity, compassion and impact’ || ‘Powerful and moving…stays in your memory long after you have put it back on your bookshelf’ - Publishing Post
‘A beautiful, moving and important book about survival and the power of the human spirit’ - Simon Reeve || ‘A captivating…compelling chronicle of the refugee experience of displacement, loss and hope’ - Ka’edi Africa || ‘A harrowing, intimate examination of civil war’s toll’ - Kirkus Reviews || ‘Engages our hearts with vivid and moving stories…written with extraordinary clarity, compassion and impact’ || ‘Powerful and moving…stays in your memory long after you have put it back on your bookshelf’ - Publishing Post

Rosalind Russell is a journalist and editor with two decades of international experience. She has worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters and The Independent in East Africa, the Middle East and Asia, reporting on the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and Myanmar's Saffron Revolution. Her first book, Burma's Spring, was described by Asian Affairs as 'reportage at its best' and reached number one in the UK Kindle non-fiction bestseller list.
She lives in London with her husband and two daughters and currently works for the Evening Standard.