New York: Taplinger Publishing, (1981) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel, originally published in 1973 in South Africa by this young novelist from an Afrikaner family, who went on to write many books and in 2001 won the 2001 Sanlam Literary Award for Fiction. "Set in a farming community in the Karoo and in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, this is the story of Nel, a farm girl who leaves home to find work in the city so that she can support her family during the years of the Great Depression. Nel lives her life as best she can, honestly and with fortitude. She marries Piet, whose feckless ways ruin her hopes of achieving a decent life for both of them. When Piet dies Nel is destitute and she returns to the Karoo, dependant for the last years of her life on the bleak charity of her youngest sister, who has married a wealthy farmer." 183 pp. ISBN: 0-800848160.