The Fever Tree - Jennifer McVeigh

Young, naïve Francis Irvine is left alone and penniless with the unexpected death of her father. Faced with the drudgery of poverty in nineteenth century London, she escapes England, hoping for a better life in South Africa.

Marriage to her cousin Edwin, a forthright young doctor who is tirelessly fighting the smallpox epidemic sweeping the Cape, seems to provide a refuge. But her hopes are dashed when she is confronted by the reality of life in Africa, and tempted by the charming William Westbrook.

Set against a backdrop of the unrelenting African landscape and inspired by the diary of a doctor working in South Africa, The Fever Tree explores one woman's struggle to decide her own fate, and in doing so she learns the true meaning of love, and living.