When Mary Byron first arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, she was only 29 and newly married to a U.S. special agent whose job it was to protect the entire American community in the Western Cape Province during South Africa’s transition to democracy under Mandela. What had this midwestern girl signed up for? Madly in love and eager to join her husband Patrick on his mission, this independent career girl would suddenly find herself thrust into uncharted territory as she learned to navigate a marriage tinged with secrecy and struggled to find her own place in a volatile and beautiful foreign land. It’s an inspiring and engrossing book that captures what it was like to bear witness to one of the most important and significant times in  the history of South Africa as Mandela came to power and South Africans were given the vote.