The Promise is a deeply moving and powerful exploration of family, guilt, and the shifting tides of a nation in transition. Set on a farm outside Pretoria, The Promise follows the Swart family as they gather for Ma’s funeral—a moment that exposes long-buried tensions and unfulfilled vows. At the heart of the story lies a commitment made to Salome, the Black woman who has served the family her entire life—a promise that was never honored.

Through the eyes of the younger generation, Anton and Amor, The Promise reveals the moral decay of privilege, the haunting weight of inherited sins, and the painful reckoning with a country’s troubled past. Damon Galgut crafts a story that is both intimate and universal, blending dark humor with piercing insight to capture the complexity of love, loss, and justice.

Winner of the Booker Prize, The Promise is a masterful reflection on the cost of broken oaths and the fragile hope for redemption in a world still learning how to heal.