A young Jewish woman , Riva Cyn, turns her back on her homeland of Lithuania, and on the curses of her mother who had refused her blessing even in death South Africa is Riva's new home, a land full of divisions as well as hope at the turn of the century The hope does not extend to the people whose country it is, however, and the following generations cannot live peacefully in a country where others are not free But ideals carry a price