July's People is about a past that never was. In our world, South Africa had managed a peaceful way out of apartheid and began the painful road to democracy. In July's People, South Africa turned out more like Zimbabwe, where the racial hierarchy broke down into a civil war. 
 But that is only on the periphery of the story. We're far away from that now, and the news only comes in on scattered radio broadcasts. Our story is about the Smales family, who have fled their comfortable suburban homes and have arrived in the home village of their servant, July. Their journey is panicked and quick. They bring laundry supplies and an electric race car track. The village has no electricity or appliances, so all the conveniences of modern life are gone. 
 What remains is an uncomfortable uncertainty. The Smales were a tidy family of reformers, who hoped for a peaceful solution to the crisis. If they were unrepentant racists, there might be some irony in their situation. But now there is no way of telling where the future is going. Same for July's tribe. They are all in disbelief that the colored peoples of South Africa were able to take power. 
 This, if anything, is a deeply uncertain future. Ours is better. But it is still uncertain.