Dennis Moorcraft is a widow in Cape Town, South Africa. He resides in the home his deceased wife had spent three years designing, only to die before they could enjoy his retirement in it together. He spends his days lonely. One day, Dennis sees someone moving into the house next door. The man, Bradshaw, is accompanied by a bodyguard and brings no furniture with him. A few nights after Bradshaw moves in, they share a pleasant night together, speaking about business. Dennis offhandedly mentions his daughter, Melissa’s, paintings. Bradshaw mentions that he’d like to see them one day. Melissa comes to visit her father. She spends the morning painting and the rest of the day with Dennis. After not having seen Bradshaw for a few weeks, Dennis runs into him while at the beach with his daughter. Bradshaw invites them over to his house. Melissa acts unusually friendly toward him. After inviting Melissa to a vineyard, Bradshaw commissions Melissa to paint a portrait of him. She starts spending lots of time at his house, making Dennis suspect that they’re having a romantic relationship. Bored and lonely, Dennis starts driving around his neighborhood. He sees an unusual, non-white person in the neighborhood and spies on him, only to feel embarrassed when the person looks right at him. A few days later, Dennis drives to his house to see reporters swarming Bradshaw’s house. Bradshaw is being accused of corruption. Dennis phones Melissa; she reveals that she’s going to leave the country with him, despite Dennis’s protests. A year later, Dennis isn’t quite sure where Melissa is. He gets the occasional email from her, but most of the time, he’s just in his house, alone.