In 1879, King Leopold began his quest to plunder Africa's resources. His secret weapon would be the elephants. And so he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.

Following in the footsteps of this colonial caravan, Roberts pieces together Carter's biography, digging deep into his expedition records to reveal his insane, ill-fated, extraordinary journey into the heart of the tormented, exploited and beautiful Congo.

With a rich cast of characters including ivory dealers, busybody missionaries, tribal chiefs and of course, four majestic elephants, Roberts brings the Congo and Carter's story to life and, through it, dares to confront our difficult imperial history.