The sunbird - Wilbur Smith (First edition)

A hazy aerial photograph and a sinister curse - known only to the Africans - and Dr Benjamin Kazin stumbles on the archaeological discovery of a lifetime... For nearly two thousand years, a brilliant and unknown ancient civilization has remained buried in southern Africa. Now at last the red cliffs of Botswanaland seem about to yield their secret.

Under the lavish patronage of his old friend and mentor Louren Sturvesant, head of one of the richest companies in the world, Ben and his green-eyed assistant Sally grope towards the mystery of the lost people. Magnificent cave paintings and the bushmen's legendary City of the Moon are the unexpected clues to the first discoveries that point to the existence of an ancient city, violently destroyed centuries ago. 

But the magic of uncovering a lost culture is interupted by dramas of a different kind: hunting scenes, romance, and the violence of African terrorists. And all are skillfully echoed in the splendour of the ancient world, as in a breathtaking sweep through time, the reader is transported back to the last days of the magnificent city itself...

Combining adventure, suspense and a wealth of historical detail The Sunbird is a brilliant imaginative feat, certainly Wilbur Smith's most ambitious and successful novel to date.