Reverend Kumalo receives a letter from Johannesburg asking him to help his ill sister Gertrude and travels to the city.

Msimangu tells Kumalo his sister Gertrude has become a sex worker and has served time in prison.

Kumalo visits Gertrude and convinces her to leave Johannesburg and return with her son to Ndotsheni.

Kumalo's brother John gives Kumalo and Msimangu information about Absalom and Matthew working at a factory together.

Father Vincent reads aloud a newspaper article about the murder of white activist Arthur Jarvis inside his own home.

The young reformatory worker tells Kumalo that police have arrested his son Absalom for Arthur Jarvis's murder.

Kumalo visits Absalom in prison for the first time; Absalom weeps but shows little sign of genuine remorse.

Police officers arrive at James Jarvis's farm and inform him that his son Arthur has been shot dead.

Father Vincent finds white lawyer Mr. Carmichael, who agrees to defend Absalom in court entirely for free.

Absalom's murder trial begins; Absalom confesses to the shooting but claims he fired out of fear, not malice.

The judge sentences Absalom to death by hanging; co-accused Matthew and Pafuri are discharged due to insufficient evidence.

Absalom wraps his arms around Kumalo's legs and begs him not to leave; white wardens drag him away.

Kumalo returns to Ndotsheni with Absalom's wife and Gertrude's young son; his wife accepts them as her own children.

James Jarvis sends carts of milk to Ndotsheni after his grandson reports that children in the village are dying.

Kumalo climbs a mountain to hold a vigil for Absalom and watches the sun rise on the day of execution.

Reverend Stephen Kumalo travels from the rural village of Ndotsheni to Johannesburg after learning his sister Gertrude is ill, hoping also to find his missing son Absalom. He discovers Gertrude has become a sex worker and convinces her to return home, but his search for Absalom ends with the devastating revelation that his son murdered a white civil rights activist named Arthur Jarvis. Kumalo visits Absalom in prison, secures a lawyer, and watches helplessly as his son is sentenced to death by hanging. After a heartbreaking final prison visit where Absalom clings to him, Kumalo returns to Ndotsheni with Absalom's wife and Gertrude's abandoned son. Back home, the white farmer James Jarvis — father of Absalom's victim — unexpectedly sends aid to the drought-stricken village. The novel closes with Kumalo holding a mountain vigil as the sun rises on the morning of his son's execution.

The essential journey from Kumalo's village to Johannesburg and back.

A scammer takes a pound from Kumalo at the Johannesburg station; an Anglican parson rescues him and guides him to Msimangu's house.

Kumalo and Msimangu walk eleven miles to Alexandra during bus protests; a white man stops his car and offers them a ride.

Msimangu swears on a Bible before Mrs. Mkize, who then reveals that Absalom brought stolen goods to her house.

Squatters in Shanty Town tell Kumalo and Msimangu that the government previously sent Absalom to a reformatory.

A young child in Shanty Town dies after a doctor fails to arrive in time to treat the illness.

Absalom's pregnant partner tells Kumalo that Absalom left without explanation a week ago and never returned.

John Kumalo tells Kumalo that Matthew's presence at the crime is proven only by Absalom's own testimony.

Kumalo arranges for Absalom's pregnant partner to move into Mrs. Lithebe's house until they are ready to leave for Ndotsheni.

James reads Arthur's unfinished manuscript arguing that white South African Christians use religion to justify exploiting Black people.

James shakes hands with Black South African mourners at Arthur's funeral, suddenly realizing it is his first time doing so.

Kumalo attends a public rally and hears his brother John deliver a powerful speech demanding fair wages for Black workers.

A miners' strike erupts across Johannesburg; police kill several Black miners before the strike collapses weeks later.

The magistrate visits Ndotsheni and James Jarvis arranges for a dam to be built to provide water for the village.

Napoleon Letsitsi, an agricultural demonstrator hired by James Jarvis, arrives in Ndotsheni and begins teaching residents how to farm.

Margaret Jarvis dies; James's letter of thanks to Kumalo convinces the visiting bishop to allow Kumalo to remain in Ndotsheni.

As Kumalo navigates Johannesburg, he encounters the city's systemic racism firsthand, from bus protests to the poverty of Shanty Town, where children die from lack of resources. His search for Absalom uncovers a trail of theft and a pregnant partner Absalom abandoned, while his brother John warns that Matthew's involvement in the murder rests only on Absalom's word. Meanwhile, James Jarvis grieves his son Arthur by reading his manuscripts and attending a funeral where he shakes hands with Black mourners for the first time. Back in Ndotsheni, a miners' strike, drought, and dying children define the community's desperation until James arranges a dam and sends agricultural demonstrator Napoleon Letsitsi to teach the villagers how to farm. The section closes with Margaret Jarvis's death and the news that James's documented kindness ultimately convinces the local bishop to allow Kumalo to remain in his beloved village.

The secondary struggles and encounters that shape Kumalo's journey.

Kumalo visits John's shop and discovers his brother has become a city activist who openly rejects tribal society.

Kumalo and Msimangu discover Absalom has abandoned his factory job; his former landlady pities Kumalo, hinting at worse news ahead.

The young reformatory worker reveals to Kumalo that Absalom was the one who fired the gun killing Arthur Jarvis.

Kumalo confesses to Father Vincent that he feels God has abandoned him; Vincent urges him to pray and seek hope.

Kumalo asks Absalom's pregnant partner to marry his son and promises to take her to live in Ndotsheni.

Kumalo spots James Jarvis leaving the courthouse during the trial but cannot bring himself to look him in the eyes.

Gold is discovered at Odendaalsrust and Arthur Jarvis's murder disappears entirely from the newspaper headlines.

James reads Arthur's second manuscript in which Arthur admits he grew up on a South African farm learning nothing true about the land.

James answers the door at his daughter-in-law's house to find Kumalo, who reveals he is the father of Absalom.

Gertrude confides to Mrs. Lithebe that she intends to become a nun and asks Absalom's partner to raise her son.

Kumalo plants a false rumor about a police informant with John; an enraged John throws Kumalo out of his shop.

Msimangu gives Kumalo 33 pounds as a farewell gift and promises to stand beside Absalom on the day of his execution.

James and Kumalo shelter from a storm together in the church; James reads the letter confirming Absalom's execution date.

Letsitsi tells Kumalo that restoring the valley will not restore the tribe without systemic change to colonial land arrangements.

Kumalo meets James on the mountain path the night before the execution; James vows to think of Absalom on the day.

This pool traces the pivotal turning points in Cry, the Beloved Country, beginning with Kumalo's discovery that his brother John has fully abandoned tribal values and his growing realization that Absalom's trail leads through theft toward a murdered white man. The emotional core arrives when Kumalo confesses to Father Vincent that God has abandoned him, only to find renewed purpose by promising to care for Absalom's pregnant partner. James Jarvis undergoes his own transformation, reading Arthur's second manuscript on South African truth and meeting Kumalo face-to-face at his daughter-in-law's door to learn who the father of his son's killer is. The trial's aftermath sends Kumalo on a collision course with his brother John, while Msimangu's farewell gift and vow to stand beside Absalom at his execution provide a rare moment of grace. The pool ends with Kumalo and James sharing a final conversation on the mountain path, each man bound by grief and the quiet hope of a better South Africa.