Andrew A. Bonar's biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, the young yet pioneering Scottish minister who revolutionized Bible readings at home and abroad, offers a meticulously detailed yet lively telling of his life story. Born to a middle-class family in Edinburgh in 1813, the young Robert demonstrated intellectual ability at an early age. Upon attending the city's university, he quickly became regarded as a remarkably gifted religious scholar. His intuitive skills and theological knowledge exceeded all expectations, and he became an assistant to John Bonar of the famous Bonar family. Robert Murray M'Cheyne was appointed a delegate of the Church of Scotland when it organized a visit to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. By all accounts this journey was spiritually fulfilling for the young minister, with the major findings and progress of the voyage recorded in his work entitled Narrative of a Visit to the Holy Land and Mission of Inquiry to the Jews.

13 Augustus 2017. Ansja vat haar twee dogtertjies kerk toe. Heeldag het sy ʼn naar gevoel op die krop van haar maag, asof iemand haar wind uitgeskop het. Sy hou by ʼn stopstraat naby hul huis stil en ʼn motor jaag van agter in hulle vas. Haar jongste dogtertjie, Larissa, se kop word met die impak vergruis soos ʼn waatlemoen.

Met bomenslike krag sleep sy haar dogters uit die kar en sit hulle op die sypaadjie neer. Dan verloor sy haar bewussyn en sien haarself en haar kinders van bo. Alles word lig. Daar is lieflike musiek en reënboogkleure. Vrede en liefde heers en niks maak meer saak nie. Sy dryf weg.

Maar dan hoor sy haar oudste dogtertjie na haar roep. En sy moet terug. Na die pyn van ʼn gebreekte lyf en gebroke hart. Hoe hervat sy haar lewe?