This story starts far away, on the streets of Aden, and long ago, in the sweltering summer of 1935.

Jama is ten years old and has grown up in the slums of this ancient city, learning to survive amongst the cosmopolitan ragamuffins and vagabonds of the port. When he loses everything in Aden his only chance of survival lies in finding his father who disappeared years before.

But between him and his father lies a dangerous, lonely expanse and just ahead is the war'that will test the world to its limits...

This story starts far away, on the streets of Aden, and long ago, in the sweltering summer of 1935.

Jama is ten years old and has grown up in the slums of this ancient city, learning to survive amongst the cosmopolitan ragamuffins and vagabonds of the port. When he loses everything in Aden his only chance of survival lies in finding his father who disappeared years before.

But between him and his father lies a dangerous, lonely expanse and just ahead is the war'that will test the world to its limits.

So begins an epic journey by foot, camel, lorry and train, which will take Jama through war-torn Eritrea and Sudan, to Egypt, Palestine and finally, to the icy realms of Britain that he heard about in Aden.

This story of one boy's many incarnations is also the story of how the Second World War affected Africa and its people; a story of exile and survival. Beautifully written, and by turns funny, disturbing and heart-breaking, Black Mamba Boy is a vivid tale of love, friendship and boundless hope.