Born in a tiny village in South Africa named Tiro, Chanda soon discovers the unpredictable and unforgiving nature of life. Her dad gets a sudden promotion, so the family moves to a larger neighboring village, Bonang. In Bonang Chanda becomes friends with Esther, a sweet little girl in her class at school. The two become inseparable. Chanda loves school and has phenomenal teachers, especially Mr. Selalame. They encourage her to keep studying because she demonstrates a great deal of potential, but fate has other ideas.
While she's still in elementary school, Chanda and her mom are left on their own after a mining accident kills her dad and both brothers. They had been living on a ranch where they were in charge of equipping cattle drivers. On their own, Chanda and Lillian survive for some time but gradually run out of money. Her mom takes a job as a cleaning woman in the home of Issac Pheto. He's a charming older man who makes an impression on Lillian. After about a year Chanda's new little sister Iris is born. Not long after Issac starts sexually abusing Chanda until her mom finds out. Immediately they leave, having burned a bridge with the snake-like Issac.
Out of the kindness of her heart a sweet old lady named Tafa welcomes them into her home. She lets them live with her in exchange for taking care of her garden. The three of them settle into their new life with Mrs. Tafa, and things go well. Lillian falls for another man, a barber this time named Dube. Together they have a son, Soly. Suddenly Mr. Dube dies of a heart attack, and once more Chanda's life takes a turn. In an effort to appease the grieving widow, Mrs. Tafa introduces Lillian to a contractor she knows named Jonah. The two hit it off right away and take up with one another, although Lillian rejects his marriage proposal for fear of the social and financial liabilities the union may bring to her children.
Chanda witnesses a horrific sequence of events now which begins with the birth of yet another baby, Sara. After Sara, Lillian undergoes several painful miscarriages. Then Jonah is fired from his job. Unable to cope in the competitive job market, he starts drinking away his problems and staying away from home for days. By the time baby Sara dies, Lillian is stretched far beyond her emotional capacity. She becomes mysteriously ill and relegates all of her work to the already exhausted Chanda. Chanda is the one responsible for arranging Sara's funeral and keeping the house in order and making sure Jonah doesn't drink away all their money and keeping her other siblings fed and clothed. When she turns to Esther for help, she discovers her friend has become a prostitute. They have an awful fight because Chanda doesn't agree with her choices, which merely adds to the poor girl's stress.
After Sara's funeral, the police find Jonah's body at the bottom of a well. The news sends Lillian into a worse bout of depression, breaking her already terrible constitution. Having lost yet another lover, she essentially gives up her will to live. Worried about her mom, Chanda decides to send her back to Tiro to see a reliable doctor, upon the advice of Mrs. Tafa. Now Chanda is solely responsible for caring for her young siblings. One day she receives a visit from Esther. She's been raped by a man who has AIDS and is now dying. Unsurprised because of the massive outbreak of HIV & AIDS in recent years, Chanda comforts her as best she can. Chanda visits Tiro to check in on her mother because she hasn't heard from her in some time. While there, she finds her mom even worse than before. Lillian has AIDS too, caught from one of her boyfriends. In one of the most touching moments of the book, she confesses to Chanda that she agreed to go to Tiro so that she could die there without bringing shame to her family. Naturally Chanda settles her fears and brings her mother home, where she quietly dies.
