Ayisha and Ahmed know there is trouble. Something is not right with this American archaeologist and his wife. Supposedly tourists. Why are they so interested in the ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu? Could they really be plotting to steal one? Well, they are more than old manuscripts to Ayisha and Ahmed-they are a rich part of their own heritage. No way are the two teens going to let this happen They risk everything to stop them, embarking on a desperate quest that takes them across the desert, through a deadly heat, a sweeping sandstorm and fi nally to the port city of Korioume to confront...

This was a beautiful friendship A once-in-a-lifetime friendship Would their cultures, African, and American, so different, tear them apart? We were walking single file to the rice field three mornings later. As we went, Khadi tried to explain to me the secrecy surrounding Sande, but it was difficult. I watched her muscles tense as we walked along, the strange sight of a big bra crossing her usually empty back. She was strutting, and had little patience for my questions. She had never questioned the Secret Society. It was something she learned from her grand-mother and would pass onto her...