Once it seemed to Kathleen Healey that Africa was empty and all of it belonged to her. An aviator, big game hunter and knitting devotee, who once boxed three rounds with Ernest Hemingway, she would land her plane wherever and whenever she chose. She was free with her favours, too, and her multitude of lovers came from all over the continent.When Kathleen dies, her only son Alexander returns to Johannesburg to carry out her last wishes. But then he meets Cindy September, a woman of the new South Africa, and Alexander must confront the final part of his mother's legacy - his capacity for love.