In October 1899, before the outbreak of the war in South Africa, Sam Hughes, the maverick Conservative imperialist, predicted ominously that the map of Africa would be painted Empire red only through the shedding of blood. By the time the Anglo-Boer War ended in May 1902, 7,368 young soldiers and 16 nurses had sailed from Canada for South Africa. About 270 died there, killed in battle or by disease. For almost three years the Canadian public was mesmerized by the war. It affected trade, industry, transportation, fashion, discourse, literature, graphics, and music.

Painting the Map Red is based on extensive research into public and private papers from printed and manuscript sources in both Canada and Britain. Carman Miller attempts to explain why men volunteered for service in this distant conflict despite the rancorous pre-war debate on the wisdom of Canadian participation. He examines the difficulties of leading citizen soldiers and compares the differing styles of leadership. He also reveals how the soldiers' experiences in the field and the public's perceptions of the war altered Canadian opinion, politics, and military development.