The story portrays 1970s and 1980s South Africa through the experiences of Paul Sweetbread, a young Jewish South African with a photographic memory. The novel follows Paul coming of age in Johannesburg's Jewish northern suburbs, from his experiences in school, through his service in the South African Defence Force during the country's border war.

It culminates with his participation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996. The novel deals heavily with the question of white liberal guilt during the apartheid regime.