Southern Africa, 1865. When Fiela Komoetie, a hardworking coloured woman, discovers a three-year-old white boy on her doorstep her choice to take him in is one that will have long-lasting ramifications on both her and the child. After a decade in Fiela’s care, Benjamin is noticed by government officials and taken from her, returned to the white family of woodcutters they believe he came from.

Separated by law and geography, Fiela and Benjamin spend the next decade trying to find each other while simultaneously coming to terms with their individual identities. Fiela has lost a son and slowly descends into depression, a state of mind that is further exasperated by the abuse that she experiences from both law and Benjamin’s new father as she tries to find him. Benjamin, on the other hand, is thrust into an abusive and impoverished environment, one where he is forced to take on a new identity while suppressing the one he has.