Nurse Andrea Rosen has had difficult times. First her husband left her for a younger girl, then her job in the hospital was rationalized. Their grown daughter, who is now living her own life, gives her mother a trip to South Africa, where Andrea was born but has not been since her youth. At the foot of Table Mountain she goes in search of traces of her past and unexpectedly meets her former bosom friend Abeba, who now works as a country doctor. Ababa senses that Andrea is fundamentally unhappy and wants to persuade her to return to her old homeland. And so, as if by chance, she arranged a meeting with John, Andreas' great childhood sweetheart. 15 years ago, John quit his job as a police officer to build a children's home, which he now runs with great dedication. When one of the foster mothers fails, Andrea takes the opportunity to make herself a little useful. The task gives her great pleasure, and her relationship with John is gradually regaining her former familiarity.