The story of 3 generations of a Kikuyu family as thier land is slowly colonized by Europeans. The success of the novel is in the perspective of the Kikuyu clan. You become so used to their way of life that the ways and rules and invasion of the Europeans makes even less sense than you would imagine. Each time I find a new book by Elspeth Huxley, I want to find another. Apprently this has been out of print for some time but recently has been reissued. A very good decsion and a thoughtful read.