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'NOT ALL OF THIS IS TRUE. But some surely is. Most of it, I hope. Some of this tale is already on its way to becoming a legend, and who can really tell us where to draw the faint line that lies between legend and truth?’

So begins this story of mankind’s closest relatives and Angel Restorick, a promising young gymnast from the tranquil Cornish fishing village of St Piran. When Angel is offered the opportunity to travel to a remote African island to study chimpanzee communication – not from a distance, but living with the apes in the treetops – she jumps at the opportunity.

Slowly, Angel earns the chimps’ trust. She befriends the playful Milo, is accepted by the formidable Gaffa, and makes a place for herself among the other researchers on Samaki Island. But what will she do, and how will the chimps react, when the peace of the forest is disturbed by a group of illegal trophy hunters? This is a story of love and passion, of adventure and self discovery. Above all it is the story of a courageous young woman, fierce determination, and some extraordinary apes.

A powerful new novel by John Ironmonger, a storyteller who gives a voice to those whose language we don’t understand.