An adventure story that tells about Kira Salak who successfully canoed 600 miles down the River Niger from Old Segou to Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa. Enduring tropical storms, the unrelenting heat of the Sahara desert and the mercurial moods of this notorious river, she travelled alone through one of the most desolate regions in Africa.

"The Cruellest Journey" is a compelling adventure story and a meditation on self-will by a young adventurer without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life.