Cry, the Beloved Country

A black pastor, Stephen Kumalo goes to Johannesburg to help his sister, Gertrude and to find his son, Absalom. When he gets to the city, Kumalo learns that Gertrude is a prostitute and is an alcoholic. He learns that Absalom has been arrested for the murder of Arthur Jarvis, a white fighter for racial justice and son of his neighbor, James. Through reading his son's essays, James decides to take up his son's work on behalf of South Africa's blacks. Absalom is sentenced to death for the murder of Arthur Jarvis. James arranges to have a dam built and hires an agricultural demonstrator to implement new farming methods.