South African writer Alan Paton (1903-1988) founded the Liberal Party of South Africa and was the party’s president from 1953 until its forced dissolution by the regime in 1968 for political interference.

The party opposed apartheid politics and promoted instead the progression of South African politics that were not based on racist thinking.

After the war, Allan Paton made a trip to Europe and the United States to examine various prison conditions. During his travels he wrote the novel Cry, The Beloved Country. The first pages were written in a hotel room in Trondheim and the final pages in San Francisco. The book was printed in 1948.  

The novel depicts the common guilt as well as the friendships that arise from the prejudices that surround South Africans.

Stephen Kumalo, an elderly Zulu pastor, leaves his hometown and travels to Johannesburg where he discovers that his only son has murdered James Jarvis, the only son of a white man.

The tragic event brings the two men closer together and they begin to work towards putting an end to all the absurdity.