Inspired by the author’s years as an activist in Apartheid-era Cape Town, The Innocents is a gripping account of how, in the myriad political battles of our recent past, an even greater number of private wars were lost or won.
Yusuf and three of his friends attempt to prove themselves worthy of the People’s Army by committing acts of sabotage against Cape Town’s wealthy citizens. Thandi, the bewitching niece of the People’s Army leader, accompanies them as an accomplice, and to report back on their achievements. As Yusuf struggles to reconcile his strong religious beliefs that condemn the murder of innocents and his group’s increasingly extreme political strategies, they are all drawn into a vortex of fear, heroism, disaster, and betrayal of lost innocence.