Novel set in the Cape before the arrival of the colonists.

Kanu, a young man from the Ofuru tribe, leaves his newly pregnant wife Afua, his hut and his tribe and goes into the mountains in search of his identity and to listen for the name of his son.

For Kanu, the quest for his child's name can only begin through the ritual of first understanding who he is. As he journeys in a search for his own identity and his child's future, he must reexamine his place in the world and the implications for those around him.

Set in precolonial Africa, Kanu must navigate the questions of meaning and identity for the individual, the relationships between individuals, the conflicting interests between groups, and the tensions between individuals and the group. He does so by using his understanding of the history and culture of his people built on the foundations of duty and compassion.