The Congo Affair / eBookIt.com (ePub)

A fascinating nail-biting and romantic exodus from civil war in the heart of the equatorial jungle.

It takes compelling reasons to leave rewarding jobs and comfortable urban lifestyles, and move to an isolated aero-space project in an equatorial jungle. The facility, constructed during a brief lull in the country's tumultuous history, is located on the equator; a good place to launch large rockets. Nearly three thousand westerners live and work behind a fence separating them from the jungle and the darkness. Few take an interest in the primeval ecosystem outside.

As happens frequently in the Congo, things start to go downhill. Civil-war spreads and the base, fifteen-hundred miles up the river, is slowly cut-off. Regular re-supply flights are suspended after a near miss with a surface-to-air missile fired from the bush. The alternate route; ten days by dilapidated ferry to Kinshasa, becomes less reliable by the week. Head-office personnel in Europe are out of touch with things on the ground, and reluctant to 'upset' local politicians by suggesting curtailing operations prematurely. The situation reaches a point where the inhabitants are forced to prepare for the worst, and to seriously consider their desperate evacuation plans.

While the mighty river flows endlessly by, camp security guards assume power from the academic admin staff, and 'martial law' is imposed. James Kent, a very private divorcee with I.T. and military experience engages the help of friendly natives to gather intelligence and questions the head-guard's escape plan. The community starts to polarize. Some make it to the coast by ferry but the situation deteriorates further, with repeated attacks by rebels causing more tensions.

The stage is set; darkest Africa, suspense and passionate romance take control.