After Vanessa Goosen is imprisoned for smuggling drugs out of Thailand she gives birth to Felicia in Lard Yao Prison.

Felicia is sent back to South Africa when she turns three. Here she is lovingly raised by her mom's best friend. But Felicia feels desolated and she does not know how to voice her feelings. Years of rebellion and self harming follows.

In her student years Felicia's life turns around, and she becomes a wounded healer, reaching out to others bringing a message of hope.

John Adams emigrates from England to South Africa and amasses a large fortune as a diamond magnate and land baron. In the finest detail, he plans the Adams legacy for his children and future generations. His wife, Sarah, warns him: "Parents don't have contracts with their children that will prevent them from breaking away one day." Every character in this gripping narrative indeed grows into an individual with unique dreams, unique ideals. Irredeemable conflict is the result, with destructive relationships and shattered dreams. It seems as if John's obsession with wealth and the preservation of Kingsberg for future generations has, instead, doomed the Adams family to failure. The towering sandstone castle with its 32 rooms becomes as important a "character" in the story as the family members. Sandstone Castle is a moving and powerful chronicle. It is an artfully constructed reclamation of the past: a gripping fusion of personal and regional history, set against the striking backdrop of the Eastern Free State.

"My planne is reeds agtermekaar. Ek gaan van Kingsberg 'n onvervreembare erfenis maak tot na die vierde geslag. So sal ek sorg dat niemand hier afbreek wat ek opgebou het nie. Niemand sal hier iets kan doen wat die volgende geslagte benadeel nie." Voordat John Adams hierdie uitspraak maak, is Suid-Afrika die droomland met onbeperkte geleenthede. Hy emigreer van Engeland hierheen, word 'n skatryk diamantmagnaat en grondbaron. Hy werk die toekoms haarfyn uit vir sy kinders en die nageslagte wat sou kom. Sy vrou, Sarah, waarsku: "Kinders het nie kontrakte met hul ouers wat maak dat hulle nie kan wegbreek nie." So word elke karakter in hierdie aangrypende verhaal inderdaad 'n persoon met eie drome, eie ideale. Onherstelbare konflik volg, verhoudinge verbrokkel en drome word verpletter. Die Adams-familie word byna tot mislukking gedoem weens John se obsessie met welvaart en die behoud van Kingsberg vir die geslagte. Die massiewe sandsteenkasteel met sy 32 vertrekke word net so 'n belangrike "karakter" in die verhaal as die familielede. Sandsteenkasteel is 'n aandoenlike maar ook kragtige verhaal. Dit is 'n kunstig gestruktureerde ontginning van die verlede: 'n boeiende stuk persoonlike sowel as streeksgeskiedenis wat in die Oos-Vrystaat afspeel.