The village of Mpandela lies in one of the most beautiful parts of the Eastern Cape, amid soft flowing hills along which footpaths curl, cattle peacefully graze and children's playful voices are heard.

This is not the village that Sixolile Mbalo remembers. Circumstances were less kind to her, but she thought that, with the love of her grandmother, she would be able to change her life. Then a young man arrived in the village and decided to make the spirited 13-year-old girl the focus of his most debasing desires.

After being subjected to almost unimaginable violence, Sixolile had to find a way back into life. Her story shines. Seldom does such an articulate voice, from the uncharted spaces of everyday South African rural life, manage not only to survive, but to talk in such an inspiring way.

With an Afterword by Antjie Krog