Separated from their mother by the harsh social and economic conditions prevalent among blacks in South Africa, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother make a journey of over 300 kilometers to find her in Johannesburg.

When the villagers of Bophelong are forced to leave their houses and resettle in a barren "homeland," thirteen-year-old Naledi and her schoolmates organize an anti-removal march through their village.

Jamela is responsible for fattening up the chicken intended for Christmas dinner, but instead she gives it a name and makes it her friend.

Tired of milking when he would rather bask in the sun, Thulani sells the cow and begins a series of exchanges that results in a sunflower crop and prosperity.

Sarie struggles when she reads aloud in class in her South African school, but then she and her friend Auntie Anna find a book about Cinderella in Auntie Anna's old car and begin to read together.

While his father works in the city over the winter, a young boy thinks of some good times they've shared and looks forward to his return to their South African home in the spring.