The story of Gillian Slovo's life could never be merely that of one woman, a talented novelist, and passionate witness to the colossal political upheaval that has come over her native country, South Africa. For Gillian Slovo is the daughter of Ruth First and Jose Slovo, her mother the journalist and political activist murdered in Mozambique in 1982; her father the pivot of the South African Communist Party and of the ANCs military arm and a personal friend and confidante of Nelson Mandela.