The Inn At Helsvlakte (Paperback)

In the Karoo-like landscape of a mythical country beset with civil war,
tarot cards flutter away on the wind and bones swiftly turn to dust. Against
the backdrop of this arid place, one woman survives on her inner resources:

Kitty Cloete, the inn-keeper’s wife.

Strong and self-willed, Kitty is a skilled equestrienne, wheelwright,
blacksmith and talented harpist – none of which could shield her from a
loveless marriage after an ill-fated romance.

And now, devastation at Helsvlakte.

After State soldiers are ambushed by Separatist guerillas, a critically
injured captain arrives at their inn. For the haunted man, whose face has
been disfigured in combat, the soulful music of Kitty’s harp will become
the elixir that brings him back to life.

But drama awaits offstage. A young man who witnessed the slaying of
his family and the torching of their farm hears of the captain’s residence at
the inn. He holds the captain responsible for the tragedy that befell his
loved ones, and sets out to find him.

The Inn at Helsvlakte is present-day troubadour Patricia Schonstein’s
bewitching tale of love and betrayal, family, human foibles and the theatre
of war.