The Burning Shore — Wilbur Smith

When British flying ace Michael Courtney bails out of his plane in the French countryside, beautiful young Centaine de Thiry nurses him back to health, falls in love with him, and is pregnant with his child when he tragically dies in battle. Centaine journeys to Michael's native Africa, determined to forge the life they'd dreamed of.

When the dashing German gunrunner Lothar De La Rey meets Centaine, she is a different woman--toughened by the hardships and dangers she's faced with Africa's dangerous animals and even more dangerous people. The passionate love-hate struggle of Lothar and Centaine reflects the world around them -- Europe bursting into war anew, Africa posing ever-new challenges to survival, and the twentieth century rushing toward its destiny.