The following version of this short story was used to create the guide: Gordimer, Nadine. "City Lovers." Six Feet of the Country. Penguin Books Ltd, 1986. Pages 48 - 60.

Nadine Gordimer's short story "City Lovers" is set in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the time of apartheid. The racial conjectures made throughout the text are inspired by the thoughts of the characters, and are not representative of the author's thoughts and opinions. The story is written from the third person point of view, and employs both the past and present tenses. The following summary adheres to a linear mode of explanation, and predominantly uses the present tense.

Dr. Franz-Joseph von Leinsdorf is an Austrian geologist who loves his work. Ever since he was a boy, he has been obsessed with rocks, stones, and minerals. For the entirety of his career, he has moved between continents and countries, devoting his life to his work.

For the past five years he has lived in Johannesburg. As with every other place he has lived, Dr. von Leinsdorf does not get involved in the city's political affairs. He spends the time he is not in the office or out in the field reading, writing, and researching in his apartment.

On his way home from work one night, Dr. von Leinsdorf stops at the supermarket across the street from his building. Noticing his favorite razors are out of stock, he notifies the cashier. Because she is black and he is white, Dr. von Leinsdorf sees her as unintelligent and incapable. When she proves herself to be attentive and accommodating, he is surprised.

A week later, Dr. von Leinsdorf runs into the girl on the street outside the supermarket. She tells him his razors are back in stock. Too hurried and laden with objects to visit the store, he asks her to deliver the razors to his nearby apartment.

The man feels offended and confused when the girl refuses his tip for running the errand. Unsure what black individuals expect from interactions with white individuals, he invites the girl in for coffee.

Over the weeks and months following, Dr. von Leinsdorf and the girl become increasingly close. At first, the girl starts delivering his groceries a few times a week. Then she begins visiting with him, making him coffee, cooking his food, and learning from him about rocks and minerals. Eventually they begin sleeping together. Because Dr. von Leinsdorf is so busy with his work, they rarely have occasion to leave the apartment. Indeed, the apartment is the only place they can be together. Sometimes on weekends, they drive out to the far reaches of the country where they can be alone in private, without fear of discovery.

Dr. von Leinsdorf begins thinking there might be a chance for the girl to improve her social standing via self-edification. Meanwhile, the girl begins imagining a future with the man.

Then one day, someone knocks on the door. Fearing they have been discovered, the girl hides in the closet. Dr. von Leinsdorf opens the door to the police. They search the apartment, discover the girl, and bring both her and the man to the station.

Though they must both go to court for breaking the Immorality Act, they are not convicted, as the doctors cannot prove that they had sex on the night they were discovered.

In the papers, the girl apologizes for hurting her mother, and the man says he does not believe governments should outlaw relationships between individuals of different classes.

The girl's mother tells the papers that her daughter will never again work as a servant for a white man.