The novel is narrated from the point of view of Magda, the white daughter of a widowed farmer in the Karoo semi-desert of the Western Cape.

At the beginning of the novel Magda fantasizes about her father unexpectedly bringing home a young bride and the violent way that she would kill them both.

Gradually, without her father to manage the land, the food begins to run out and Hendrik, who is owed wages, demands to be paid.

When white men from nearby farms turn up looking for Magda's father, Hendrik and Anna flee fearing that they will blamed for his death.

The novel ends with Magda isolated on the farm, slowly starving and seemingly going mad, as she tries to communicate with the planes that are beginning to fly over the desert every day.