Content Warning: The novel and this guide discuss sexism, sexual assault, stalking, sexual grooming, violence, and racism.

David is forced to resign from his teaching post after the hearing, and soon after, he leaves Cape Town. He goes to visit Lucy, his daughter, who lives on a smallholding—a small farm—in Salem, a small town in the Eastern Cape. Lucy kennels dogs for a living in a building that once housed a commune; she is the last remaining member of the disbanded commune. Lucy also runs a stall at a farmers’ market in the local town, where she sells produce and flowers. Lucy used to live with her partner Helen, whom David never liked. Helen has since left, however, and David stays in her old room.

David is not used to life outside the city. He vacillates between appreciating this more rural way of life and criticizing everything around him. He takes a tour around Lucy’s property and encounters an abandoned bulldog named Katy. He also meets one of Lucy’s Black neighbors, Petrus, who was formerly one of Lucy’s helpers; he now lives next door to her in a stable.