Place among the stones

For Johnny Ramsden it all began on the day of the mass burial, when he overheard Mrs Simpson whispering: Boer sympathisers within the besieged town of Mafikeng were passing information to the enemy. His mother came from a Boer family - and was a suspect. That was preposterous, Johnny decided after a brief moment of doubt. Then, late one night, he heard the tap on the door and saw his mother sending off a message... Suddenly nothing was clear-cut any more and Johnny had to grapple with problems he'd never thought existed: the conflict between patriotism and loyalty to his family, having to learn that the enemy consisted of the ordinary, often admirable people who were entitled to their own point of view, and the heart-breaking divisions this "gentleman's war" was causing between family members. The siege of Mafikeng became 217 days of trial for the people of "the place among the stones", for the gallant troops on both the British and the Boer sides, and for Johnny himself, who stood the test to become a man.