Spencer Dutton is the younger son of James and Margaret Dutton, born after the events of 1883.
Spencer is the younger son of James and Margaret Dutton. During a harsh winter in 1893 James dies after suffering a gunshot wound. Margaret writes to her brother-in-law Jacob for help, but by the time Jacob and his wife Cara arrive, Margaret has died as well. We later learn that Spencer is five years old when the lions of Tsavo are killed (in 1898-9) by John Henry Patterson.
Years later, Spencer enlists in the United States military as part of the American Expedition Force fighting overseas in the Great War. After experiencing the horrors of war, Spencer has to cope with the problems of both heavy drinking and the hunting of dangerous predators in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is hired by the Protectorate of Kenya to hunt a large leopard that is killing numbers of people. As he waits in ambush at night, the leopard mauls a British woman who has left her tent to relieve herself. While he investigates the commotion, Spencer's native colleagues observe a second leopard approaching the tent. Spencer finds that the leopard has killed the woman and dragged her up a tree. After he kills the beast, the other leopard injures him and kills one of his fellow hunters, Kagiso.
While in Nairobi for medical treatment, he encounters a young British woman named Alexandra at a local inn's bar. Talking to Spencer, she confirms to her friends that he is a famous American war hero and hunter. She becomes infatuated with Spencer and loses interest in her fiancé, Arthur. The next morning, Alexandria leaves Arthur and their families to chase after the car taking Spencer to Tanganyika to hunt a hyena.
The pair arrive in the Tanganyika camp and begin exploring the area. They soon fall in love and get engaged. Not long after, they encounter a hostile bull elephant that damages their car, forcing them to spend the night in a tree where they are attacked by several predators until help arrives from the camp. The experience deeply troubles Alexandra, but she remains by Spencer's side and confesses that she didn't want to "look death in the eye" as much as she had thought when she first met Spencer.
They later go on vacation to the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar, where Spencer receives a three-month-old letter from his aunt Cara, informing him that his brother is dead, his uncle is dying, and his nephew is wounded. Cara also asks for him to return home to defend his family and the ranch.
They later search for the earliest passage to the States, which will involve first heading to England in order to get a ship across the Atlantic. Spencer is helped by Lucca, an old sea captain suffering from tuberculosis, and learns that they can travel up the Suez Canal on a tugboat. During the voyage, Lucca dies from TB and the tugboat capsizes after a collision with an abandoned ship.
After a night spent fending off sharks from atop the flipped boat, they are able to get the attention of a ship, and are rescued. The captain later marries Spencer and Alex, gifting Alex his wife’s ring.
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