When the Sandgrouse Stopped Coming

Racked with guilt at his part in the tragic events that occurred at the Black Mountain Mine in the Northern Cape, Jack McCall withdraws from society, hiding himself at a remote lodge near the Brandberg Mountain Massif. For three years he works as their maintenance man, shunning contact with anyone who could identify him with the past
Then three events happen in quick succession.

The first is an act of nature. Near the lodge where he works there is a large flock of sandgrouse. They regularly go south in spring to breed in a safer environment, returning in the last week of December. That year they did not return. Was that a sign?
The second is a chance meeting with a young woman, recently divorced, and travelling through Namibia as a form of escapism when her car breaks down. They spend three days together, recognising their common need. For both it awakens a belief that they can expect renewal, that they can still be attractive to others.

Finally a man who Jack once helped with a business problem appears at the lodge with a proposition. “I’m dying, Jack,” he says, “and I need your help. Come and shepherd my company through this difficult time.”

He cannot refuse.