Story Overview

The story narrated in this book highlights the agonies suffered by ordinary people in apartheid South Africa, some of whom found themselves being welcomed back as heroes while all they did was flee from an unjust government.

Main Character

This is the story of Gebashe, who, as a school boy, was recruited by the organization of freedom fighters and ended up in Swaziland as a private doctor with an unhappy marriage.

Family Background

Back home, Gebashe's father is estranged from his eldest son, who took Gebashe from a rural school to a school in Cape Town, from where he was recruited by the freedom fighters.

Return and Reconciliation

Gebashe's return to his home country, long after the first elections for a democratic government, marks the beginning of reconciliation in his family, acted out through the custom of initiation.

Later Life

He then remarries; this time to a woman who would have been his childhood girlfriend had things been normal when they grew up. It is a story of mutilated family structures, but through all that, hope for reconciliation and prosperity prevails, hence the title.