‘Give me a boy until he is ten and I will give you the man.’

An old saying that can equally apply to all children. It stresses the importance of the development of youth, and how the impressions that surround the young give rise to their adult characters.

In troubled times of empire and conflict two children, born ten years apart on different continents , grow to find each other in the midst of war-torn East Africa. Defying social conventions and taboos, their relationship was never going to be easy. They come together in East Africa only to drift apart in jealous pursuit of their different careers in Germany through the 1920’s and 30’s. He the diplomat heading for the top. She, the singer and cabaret artist seeking larger audiences and bigger theatres.

The end of Second World War is a turning point in their chequered relationship. Love can rise and fall and be much abused through the years, but does love and passion ever really die ? Perhaps sometimes it just matures into something stronger.