The volume collects three short tales. The first, The Wizard, presents a story of faith prevailing over savagery and death. The second, Elissa, attempts to reconstruct life around ancient Phoenician Zimbabwe and frames the city’s decline with an added love story. The third follows the courtship, trials, and eventual union of a pair of Zulu lovers set against rising political tension at the royal kraal; episodes include an English observer’s encounters with chiefs and a vivid scene of royal judgment that foreshadows conflict.