This novel renders the trauma and emotional turmoil of a young girl between the formative ages of five and twelve, during which time she is persistently sexually abused by her step-father and emotionally abused and neglected by her alcoholic mother. It is set against the bleak backdrop of an impoverished and fiercely racist white community in 1960s and 1970s Johannesburg.
As the country moves towards the tragic events of June 16, 1976, so too does Terry's private ordeal with her family descend into complete breakdown and crisis. The story is not simply one of survival from child abuse but also provides a searching and, at times, brutal account of the psychological and emotional realities of children who are victims of prolonged sexual and emotional abuse.
