After Olivia’s death, the Fullers embark on a road trip through war-torn Rhodesia, seeking refuge from their grief. The family encounters two hitchhikers and reluctantly accommodates the strangers into their already-crowded car.

Alexandra notices a stark contrast between the European-owned farms and impoverished African-owned ones. Her father blames the desolate state of the lands on the ethnicity of the inhabitants. He refers to Africans using a derogatory slur, implying that their race inherently makes them inferior farmers. Parroting her father’s views, Alexandra echoes the slur and claims that she will teach Africans how to farm properly.

One year before the Rhodesian Bush War ends, African farmers experience food scarcity as crops go untended and cattle stray. Nicola has 10-year-old Alexandra assist her in rounding up stray cattle that have wandered onto their farm from nearby villages. They navigate in relentless heat through dense bush near the Mozambican border.

Nicola leaves Alexandra alone briefly, and, frightened, she screams for her mother. The day-long ordeal is exhausting and leaves Alexandra thirsty and irritated, but both successfully corral the cattle back home. Her mother sells the rounded-up cattle and uses the money to send Vanessa to England and take the family on a camping trip to South Africa.