This stunning first novel, set in contemporary Africa, begs to be compared to Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible and Ronan Bennett's The Catastrophist yet is distinctive enough to be in a class of its own. An American human rights worker falls in love with a native-born member of the ruling class in Burundi, a country that is working to move from years of monarchy and bloody civil war to a democratic government. Anne and Jean-Pierre find themselves facing cultural, political, and ideological differences as the country falls apart. To further complicate matters, Anne receives a message that back home in the United States, her mother has been diagnosed with cancer that may be terminal. This is much more than a political treatise; it is a story of sexual obsession and how we merge family values and relationships with career and humanitarian goals. Stone, who spent two years in Burundi as a volunteer, teacher, and journalist, brings an authentic voice to this novel of life and death issues. Recommended for public libraries. Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib., Chittenango, NY