Rodger B Baird

Africa Swindle Rodger B Baird

On the day that Major Baker's wagon rolled into Watervaal Farm loaded with spoils from the Boer War in South Africa, nobody suspected that it was of much importance. Two tons of ivory and a four-ton boulder etched with prehistoric native art, though, would alter the lives of three generations of the Davies family and their native African friends.

It would be up to Jay-R, some ninety years later, to leverage the primitive mystique of the stone against development of modern weaponry, namely, nuclear, chemical, and biological devices capable of genocide. Must the acolytes protect the myth or does the stone have enough magic? Perhaps, with a little help from a few friends, the rock can serve one more purpose.

Is it possible to cripple the operations of some of the wealthiest and most powerful of men using primitive means? To succeed, Jay-R must infiltrate the inner circle of a treacherous arms smuggler and become a trusted asset. He'll need the help of his mentor and fellow spy, Roxanne, as well as his own father, a cast of native African allies, and an old comrade. The con job requires revealing the stone's provenance, but of necessity, the story unfolds a family history of clandestine endeavors spanning three generations of African families whose lives and fate were molded by war, oppression, and inhumanity on a vast scale. Jay-R finds a way to combine business and pleasure in his mission when he becomes involved with the lovely Julia, who helps him get inside the gunrunner's trusted circle. But it's a complication that may put her life in jeopardy along the way.