Set in England's colonial outposts in South Africa during the 19th century, both of the plays in this volume feature sisters forced by a deeply conservative, patriarchal society to resist the powerful call of their vivid surroundings and to stifle the demands of their own rich, feminine sexuality.

In Concealment, Amy and her father travel to South Africa to retrieve her recently widowed sister, but are disturbed to find her untouched by grief, unwilling to return and drawn instead to the wild, natural beauty of her moonlit garden. In Fever, Emma corresponds with Katy back in England, who learns the full and terrible extent of her sister's yearning and isolation when she discovers her hidden diary.