Organising her husband, toddler and babe in arms, three suitcases, two rucksacks, a pram and a travel cot onto a plane ready for a new life in Zambia is complicated enough.

Given Catharine’s fear of malaria and tropical diseases and the anxieties of moving beyond the reach of friends and family, she wonders how she was persuaded to move at all. Then, just as they approach the airport, it appears that they don’t have their passports.

In the Shade of the Mulberry Tree is a heartwarming and thought provoking tale about Catharine Withenay’s first year living abroad as an expatriate wife. She chronicles her family’s adventures as they settle into a new culture far from home.