The novel deals with a variety of issues in contemporary South Africa, including unemployment, HIV-AIDS, and corruption.

Stephen, a white, half-Jew, half Christian, and Jabulile (Jabu), a Zulu, are now able to legally live as a married couple in South Africa.

The novel deals with their adjusting to the normalcy of post-Apartheid South Africa, and the cognitive dissonance of sending their children to private school and living in a suburb while poverty remains a severe problem in the country.

Toward the end of the novel, a disastrous home invasion, compounded by other crimes against the family, causes Stephen and Jubu to consider moving to Australia.

[2][3][4] Critics also praised Gordimer for her ability to address a number of different social issues in the context of one family's experience, and her willingness to ask difficult questions about quality of life in South Africa.