Andrea Caldwell is spending some time at her late uncles cottage, beqeathed to her, on the banks of the Umzimvubu River that flows past the Eastern Cape town of Port St Johns in South Africa. There are heavy rains up country which cause the river to flood. She meets Harry, a total stranger, who has managed to save himself from being washed out to sea. Does she trust him? And who are the solidiers who have landed on the airstrip on the flat mountain behind her house? There are a number of dilemmas to face.