With an emphasis on her early years, covers the life of the South African woman who married a prominent fighter for racial equality in South Africa and later became a leader in her own right.

"Hortensia James and Marion Agostino are neighbors. One is black, the other white. Both are successful women with impressive careers. Both have recently been widowed, and are living with questions, disappointments, and secrets that have brought them shame. And each has something that the woman next door deeply desires. Sworn enemies, the two share a hedge and a deliberate hostility, which they maintain with a zeal that belies their age. But, one day,...

Recounts the story of a young American anti-apartheid activist and Fulbright scholar who was murdered by black residents of Cape Town, who ultimately were granted amnesty and worked with the woman's parents to create an educational foundation for justice. The story of Amy Biehl is well known in South Africa: The twenty-six-year-old white American Fulbright scholar was brutally murdered on August 25, 1993, during the final, fiery days of apartheid...