The real story of Poppie Nongena, a South African woman whose life revolves around her family. She finds stability in a period of immense upheaval in South Africa, at a time when African women are forced to leave their homes and settle in remote areas designated as black homelands. Poppie finds a job “to live in”, seeing her children briefly on weekends. When her husband, Stone, becomes ill, Poppie is considered by law to be an illegal resident in her own country. She is in a desperate struggle for permission to stay. Her focus is firmly on the well-being and education of her children.