 For a time, his daughter's influence and natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life; for example, in attending farmers markets where Lucy sells her wares, and in working with Petrus, a polygamously-married black African whose farm borders Lucy's and who nominally works for Lucy as a "dog-man" (Lucy boards dogs).But the balance of power in the country is shifting.Shortly after becoming comfortable with rural life, he is forced to come to terms with the aftermath of an attack on the farm.