In 1940s (?) Rhodesia, a white woman is killed my her houseboy. Is is not a murder mystery, but an exploration of how how things got to that point. How the woman came to be who she is, marry her husband, live in that house, have that servant. How the black man came to kill her. How the neighbours and police came to not investigate the matter, came not to be surprised or sorry. How the whites came to dehumanise the blacks in Rhodesia.

Mary, the main character, her husband and their relation are portrayed with nuance and sensitivity. I think we're meant to hate Mary, but really I felt like she had not really chance in the world she grew up. By comparison, the character of Moses (the houseboy), strikes me as a caricature of himself, and of all the most trite stereotypes. Probably the book also came across very differently when it was written and Rhodesia was under Apartheid. Not a 'pleasant' read, but one worth your time.