A vacant patch of South African veld next to the comfortable, complacent
Malgas household has been taken over by a mysterious, eccentric figure
with a plan. Fashioning his tools out of recycled garbage, the stranger
enlists Malgas's help in clearing the land and planning his mansion.
Slowly but inevitably, the stranger's charm and the novel's richly
inventive language draws Malgas into the plan and he sees, feels and
moves into the new building. Then, just as remorselessly, all that
seemed solid begins to melt back into air.