Empires of Sand — David Ball

An epic novel of adventure in the grandest tradition of historical fiction, Empires of Sand takes us on a thrilling, unforgettable journey. As civilizations collide around two men, a battle begins: for survival, for love, and for a destiny written in a desert's shifting sands.

The year is 1870. Paris is under siege, and two boys, best friends and cousins, are swept from their life of privilege. A brutal killing forces Michel deVries -- called Moussa -- to flee to his mother's homeland in North Africa. A family disgrace forces Paul deVries to seek redemption in the French military. Ten years will pass before they come face-to-face again.

Now Moussa has become a desert warrior and a beautiful woman's forbidden lover, while Paul leads an ill-fated French force into the Sahara. Against a breathtaking landscape of blazing sands and ancient mysteries, these two men face a struggle that will shatter lives across two continents -- and force them to choose between separate dreams and shared blood....