What does a pretty Afrikaans wife in the 1950s do when the walls start closing in? When her husband is an embittered Ben Schoeman-supporter who struggles with an asthma pump, and her father sees communists and Catholics behind every bush. When the only relief is the annual ATKV concert in Hartenbos? And – especially – when her salt-of-the-earth neighbours are suddenly forced to pack up and move away? Jeanne Goosen tells the story of how Doris van Greunen tries to break out of her world: with her job as an usherette at the bioscope, with her Cavallas, with friends like Aunt Mavis and Uncle Tank – and with Barnie, the swank. Through the eyes of a child – Doris's daughter, Gertie – the story explores the universal yearning for love and romance.