Love in the Land of Barefoot Soldiers

In this sweeping work of historical fiction, a young woman finds love among the ruins of an ancient empire caught in the grip of modern war. Mourning the death of her father, American archaeology student Ceseli Larson travels to the ancient city of Axum in Ethiopia. While she pursues the secrets of the city's buried past, where the remnants of the Ark of the Covenant are rumored to rest, the concerns of the modern world threaten to shut down her research. With Mussolini's Italian army threatening invasion, Ceseli must obtain the permission of the Ethiopian emperor to continue her work. But her deeply personal journey takes a detour with the arrival of an Italian doctor on a mission to provide aid to citizens of the outmatched nation. As the march of history rumbles ever closer, the young lovers must find a way to persevere against the forces bent on tearing them apart.