When traumatised aid worker John Cousins arrives in north-east Africa he hopes to find a sense of personal peace among a gentle people rebuilding their lives following a bitter and prolonged war. In Eritrea he begins to forget his own emotional pain and lay to rest the ghosts of his previous mission in Pakistan. Will the work with fellow aid worker and nurse Hannah Johnson help heal the scars? And what is the secret of her own past? Cold Coffee in Asmara is a story of personal loss, redemption and love set against a backdrop of humanitarian work in a remote corner of the world where African, Arab and European influences collide.