Growing up, Jack had heard all about the supposed virtues of the modern world. Connectivity, convenience. But from where he stands in small-town America, those promises ring hollow. With college (and a lifetime of debt) looming, he goes with the oldest trick in the quarter-life-crisis-haver's playbook: If in doubt, go to Africa to save the children. What could go wrong?Quite a bit, it turns out. In Cape Town, he's thrown into a backwards, lawless world, one of bloodthirst and betrayal - and that's just among his fellow volunteers. The local wildlife, meanwhile, don't turn out to be much more welcoming.Yet something about this place keeps pulling him back. Jack's adventures over the next few years challenge everything he thought he knew, revealing the forces shaping both South Africa and the world at large.