Using a newspaper article to document the murder of a white farmer's wife by her native servant, Lessing addresses the human tendency to generalize, sensationalize, and confirm their worst assumptions, fears, and beliefs. The article clipping itself is followed by the narrator's exploration of the situation following the murder before the reader even encounters the characters' points of view. These narrative explorations throughout the remainder of chapter one direct the reader to the primary issues surrounding the murder and the society in which it takes place. In the end, all of the participants implicate themselves in wrongdoing and lack of respect for human dignity.

The rest of the novel provides extended flashbacks up to murder. Chapter two returns to Mary's childhood, and she remains the focus of more chapters than other characters. Most importantly, Lessing shows how successfully Mary lives in the city by herself and returns to...