First published 1978
Martin Mynhardt sits in his Johannesburg office as political tensions escalate around him in 1970s South Africa. A successful Afrikaner businessman, he has built his wealth within the apartheid system while maintaining a comfortable distance from its brutal realities. When violence erupts and the country edges toward crisis, Martin finds himself forced to examine the foundations of his privilege and prosperity. His carefully constructed world begins to crack as he confronts the human cost of the system that has enriched him. Family relationships strain under the weight of political and moral pressures. Martin must decide whether to continue his willful blindness or face the uncomfortable truths about his role in perpetuating injustice. The story exposes how ordinary people become complicit in systematic oppression through small compromises and deliberate ignorance.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, africa
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: complicity, moral-ambiguity, social-commentary
Setting: Johannesburg, South Africa
Period: 1970s
446 pages · Hardcover · Morrow
Content warnings: racism, violence