Marit Laurens, a young woman of British descent, recently orphaned and newly wed, comes to live with her husband Ben on their farm, situated in an Edenic setting on the border of South Africa and an unnamed country. But when guerrilla violence and tragedy visit their lives, Marit finds herself in a tug of war between the local Afrikaaner community surrounding the farm and the black workers who live on it. Frightened and confused, she turns to the only person who can offer her friendship - her maid, Tembi. Marit stubbornly determines to run the farm with Tembi's help, until the encroaching civil war brings out their conflicting loyalties and turns their struggle into a fight for their lives. Written with exquisite lyricism and deep insight, this novel offers a profound perspective on what it means to be black and white in a country where both live and feel entitlement, and moves beyond its own time and place to become a universal story of the price of freedom.