When the taxi Mandy is riding in runs out of petrol, she and her companion are stranded alongside a country road with their fellow passengers, all of whom are Zulu. While they wait for help, friendships develop as they share problems and stories – and Mandy finds herself drawn to 8-year-old Jabulani, an AIDS orphan. She is determined to help the boy, but what she proposes to do is not an easy road to follow; she faces legal and logistical problems, and much opposition. There is one person who supports her, though – a lawyer whom she meets in Durban. Meeting him adds to her dilemma and she is torn by conflicting loyalties.
A complex story that delves into the meaning of ubuntu, the politics of personal compassion, and the complications of responsibility, culpability, culture, and one’s position in the world.