17th century Africa. One fine day, the paradise that Semba has always known is blasted to smithereens. His village is attacked by bloodthirsty warriors: the bravest of the villagers are taken prisoner; the others are reduced to blood and bones. They have all become the property of Dom Fernando Da Fonseca, a fabulously wealthy Portuguese slave trader in Brazil. Which means there’s an ocean to cross… Once on the far shore, the prisoner Semba becomes a slave. Welcome to hell: beatings and whippings, humiliation, the exhausting labor in the sugar-cane fields… Semba can’t think of anything but reclaiming his lost dignity. The only way to do that is to escape to the Barriga forest, where thousands of Negroes who chose rebellion and freedom live. Their leader is the formidable Zumbi, the God-of-War who has been defying the Dutch and Portuguese for years. His is the land of hope. So Semba will attempt the impossible. Will he succeed? Or die trying? Zumbi is Jean-Paul Delfino’s fourth novel set in Brazil. This breathtakingly compelling, unusual and intelligent saga of slavery and Brazilian history, well-written and well-plotted, makes for a very enjoyable read. 'Zumbi', or the eventful, thwarted and exciting destinies of two families, from the coast of Guinea to the newly formed Brazilian nation. The first family is Semba the warrior’s -- captured in Africa, once he arrives in Brazil, he will stop at nothing to get his freedom back. The other is Dom Da Fonseca’s, the most powerful slave-trading family in the court of the Portuguese Trading Company in Rio de Janeiro. A rendezvous with love, violence and adventure.