The latest novel by the prolific Steel follows the fortunes of the young, wealthy, and beautiful Princess Christianna, the cosseted daughter of the prince of a small European nation. Returning to the kingdom after four years spent studying in America (followed everywhere by bodyguards), the princess chafes in her gilded cage and rails against the responsibilities and insignificance of her duty-bound royal life. Determined to make a difference in the world, she successfully petitions her father to be allowed to volunteer for the Red Cross and soon finds herself in East Africa working alongside doctors and other volunteers providing relief services to AIDS victims. Inevitably, in Africa she meets and falls in love with a handsome Harvard-educated doctor and is quite happy for the first time in her life, doing hard but meaningful work and spending time with her soul mate. When violence intrudes upon this idyll, Christianna must return home, where her father promptly quashes the relationship with the commoner. As the two lovers pine for each other from opposite ends of the earth, a series of events is unleashed leaving the princess in charge of her own destiny and ultimately reuniting the pair. Steel's fans will be waiting for this one. Kathleen Hughes