When English medical student Penny Drayton chooses an elective term abroad, she holds high hopes of helping the beleaguered people of Uganda.

Upon arriving at the bush mission hospital in Kisimba, Penny soon forges a place for herself in the small medical community there. She also quickly learns how different-and difficult-practicing medicine is in a place fraught with political turmoil and plagued by scarcity.

But it isn't all work for Penny. Nicholas Sottile, an American epidemiologist and hero of the Vietnam War, catches Penny's eye-and she almost instantly finds herself swept up by his charisma and intelligence. Yet despite the powerful attraction between them, Penny suspects Nick harbors secrets beneath his charming exterior.

With a political coup looming on the horizon and violence penetrating even the walls of the hospital, Penny prepares to return to her studies in London, even though it means saying good-bye to a place and people she has come to love.

But with the country collapsing around her and a ruthless dictator seizing power, Penny realizes she might not survive to make it back to England-let alone reunite with the man she loves.