Frank Mc Allister has long since dropped ” Retief” as his middle name, but the legacy of his family`s history proves harder to shake. His ancestor Piet Retief, leader of the South African Great Trek, was killed by Zulu king Dingane in the 1838 massacre, along with a hundred men, women, & children. Afrikaner legend paints Retief as a homegrown Moses, bringing his people to the Promised L&. But Frank believes something rotten lies at the core of this family myth. Frank spends his days in his London home with his new partner & her son & the products of his wealth. But the return of his daughter, Lucinda, from rehab in California brings him intense guilt: having sided with him during his divorce from her mother, she crumbled under the weight of the bitter separation. Lucinda has brought home with her a mysterious boy, & they will join the family trip to Frank`s beach house in South Africa--not far from the site of the 1838 massacre. In the lulls of their idyllic days, Frank unravels what really happened on that fateful day, & how it may connect to the violence of the apartheid years, & the violence encroaching on them even now.” Up Against the Night” is an enthralling tale of personal conflict & intrigue, set against the backdrop of South Africa`s tangled past & troubled present, & told with tremendous color & insight. Absolutely original & gripping, it is destined to be as influential as JM Coetzee`s ” Disgrace.”