Little did Nancy Jones suspect what lay ahead for her when she thought that pasteurising milk in Mauritania would be a good idea. Her dream dairy just had to overcome a few minor hurdles: there were no cows in the desert, only restless camels; Mauritanians loved raw milk but regarded local industry with mistrust; there was no trained manpower; the technical environment was almost nonexistent; importers ruled the market - and she was a woman. Nancy Abeiderrahmane, as she became, wandered into a twenty-year-long adventure that would earn her a Rolex Award and a few medals, and more importantly...

Le jour ou vint a Nancy Jones l'idee de pasteuriser du lait en Mauritanie, elle etait loin de se douter que ce qui lui semblait une bonne idee etait le debut d'une aventure au quotidien. Sans trop s'attarder sur des broutilles telles que l'absence de vaches dans le desert (mais des chamelles plutot nomades), le manque de main d' uvre qualifiee, la mefiance des mauritaniens vis-a-vis des industries, la mainmise des importateurs sur le marche ... et le fait d'etre une femme, Nancy, devenue par mariage Abeiderrahmane, armee de son sourire et son esprit d'entreprise, s'est hasardee dans un destin...