The Indigo Press An Act Of Defiance

How do you imagine the future when your story traps you in the past?Harare, 2000.Gabrielle is a newly-qualified lawyer, fighting for justice for a young girl.Ben is an urbane and charismatic junior diplomat, attached to Harare with the American embassy.With high-level pressure on Gabrielle to drop her case, and Robert Mugabe’s youth wing terrorising his political opponents as he tightens his grip on power, they begin a tentative love affair.But when they fall victim to a shocking attack, their lives splinter across continents and their stories diverge, forcing Gabrielle on a painful journey towards self-realisation. Irene Sabatini, Winner of the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers, navigates Zimbabwe’s unfolding political crises, showing how the dehumanising effects of political violence can shape and remake a life.An Act of Defiance is a sweeping political drama about a young woman’s fight for love and agency in troubled times.