A beguiling story that does for contemporary Kenya and its 1,000 species of birds what Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies Detective series does for Botswana.

This is a novel with an irresistible premise that is winning fans the world over; rights have been sold in eight countries.

For the past three years, the widower Mr. Malik has been secretly in love with Rose Mbikwa, a woman who leads the weekly bird walks sponsored by the East African Ornithological Society. Just as Malik is getting up the nerve to invite Rose to the Nairobi Hunt Club Ball (the premier social occasion of the Kenyan calendar), who should pop up but Malik's nemesis from his school days. So begins the competition: whoever can identify the most species of birds in one week's time gets the privilege of asking the object of his affection to the ball.

Kenya is wildlife heaven and Drayson's descriptions make you long to travel there. But the author also turns an eagle eye on the foibles and follies of the people and politicians who roam the East African landscape. Readers looking for winning fiction that delivers wit and wisdom need look no further than in the pages of this novel.