For years, it has been what is called a 'deteriorating situation'. Now all over South Africa the cities are battlegrounds. The members of the Smales family — liberal whites — are rescued from the terror by their servant, July, who leads them to refuge in his native village. What happens to the Smaleses and to July — the shifts in character and relationships — gives us an unforgettable look into the terrifying, tacit understandings and misunderstandings between blacks and whites.