| South Africa, 1725. Claas Blank, a young Khoi herder, is found guilty of theft after attempting to re-acquire cattle that had been commandeered by white settlers. His is convicted and sent to work in the labour camp of Robben Island, a harsh penal colony off the coast of Cape Town. On the island, Blank is put to work in the nursery where English botanist Virgil Niven is cultivating a species of protea, with which he hopes to take on the international tulip market. Niven is impressed by Blank's quick mental grasp, and the young prisoner soon finds he is able to exchange his local knowledge for the odd privlilege or two. Also at the nursery is Rijkhaart Jacobsz, a Dutch sailor who has been convicted and sent to the island for homosexual misconduct. Despite their considerable differences, the two prisoners are inexorably drawn to one another - and before long, their feelings transcend the vast cultural taboos of the time and they become lovers. Based on harrowing true events, using case files discovered by Jack Lewis in South African archives. Engels en Afrikaans gesproken - Engelse ondertitels bij het Afrikaans |