Flowering Wilderness

Nicola Graham, who is sweet and ordinary and not without her dreams, accompanies Helen Raynor to the huge West African estate which is owned by the Raynor brothers. John is Helen's husband, and his older brother, David, is a bachelor and very much against bringing women into the tropics. He has given in to Helen's plea to be with her husband with the greatest reluctance. From the beginning David regards Nicky as a nice little thing who would be happier in an English suburban home. At every opportunity he urges her to leave West Africa before the climate exacts a toll of her health. But Nicky cheerfully combats boredom, pests and food difficulties. She would have been exceedingly happy had not an attractive young war widow claimed David's help and loyalty. Quite obviously, Diana Godfrey intends to acquire as a husband the wealthy and elusive David Raynor. Nicky is unsophisticated; she has no weapon against the experienced Diana, nothing to offer David but her own sturdy personality. Her problem is happily worked out against the lush background of rubber and palm oil plantations, and the dazzling coastal town of Cape Fargas.