Throughout her life Basha fought to keep alive that small flame which lit her being. Whether in Toender in Denmark, St. Petersburg in Russia, London in England, Durban, Standerton or Johannesburg in South Africa, Basha's life has been determined by others. Sent as a child by her impoverished parents to a better life with an uncle in Russia, Basha battled to overcome her rage at being separated from her family, and especially her Zayde, her grandfather. Aided by her beloved sister, Eva, and Pavli, her greatest friend and the man she should have been allowed to marry, Basha employs all her wit, talent, imagination and humour to forge her life. The shock of an arranged marriage to a weak and selfish man, David Tannerberg, whom she scarcely knows, tests her mettle further, as does maintaining his business when he leaves London for Durban. Five years later, Basha sells the business and takes the family to join David, who gives every appearance of having forgotten them, or wanting to do so. She discovers new joys and different heartaches but her compassion and generosity never desert her in finding gratification and beauty in unexpected ways.