The play commences with Simon Hanabe, a Black gravedigger, telling the audience concerning Roelf, a white train driver who came to the unmarked graves to search for Red Doek. Red Doek is the woman who jumped into the railroad with her baby and died instantly when the train was passing by. Roelf does not know the identity of the woman he killed, but he calls her Red Doek because of the red scarf she was wearing at the time of her death. Since Roelf killed Red Doek, he has been haunted by the memories of her death. According to Roelf, he wants to trace Red Doek's grave and curse her ghost to stop ruining his life. However, Simon warns Roelf that grave gangs will kill him because they do not want to see white men in their territory. However, Roelf refuses to leave and instead accompanies Simon into his shack. After getting into the shack, Simon tells Roelf that finding Red Doek's grave is an uphill task because most people buried in unmarked graves are unknown.
The following day, Simon and Roelf start inspecting the graves, but the task is difficult because Simon does not recall where he buried the woman and her baby. While surveying the graves, Roelf is astonished to discover that pieces of trash are used in marking graves instead of using crosses. Simon tells Roelf that the main reason why he marks the graves using trash is to help him avoid digging occupied graves. Roelf realizes that Black and white people have the same destiny when they die. For instance, their bodies decompose after death, regardless of their race.
After the first day of surveying the graves, Simon and Roelf retire to the shack to share a meal. Before sleeping, Simon and Roelf talk about their childhood days and realize they share much in common despite living in different neighborhoods. More importantly, Roelf learns about the suffering of the Black people in squatter camps. While interacting with the Black people in the neighborhood, Roelf witnesses how Black people live in poverty. The neighborhood does not have proper roads, medical centers and recreational facilities. Roelf becomes sympathetic and stops looking for Red Doek's grave.
When Roelf tries to leave the shack, Red Doek's spirit holds him back. He starts wishing that he should have been the one who buried her to get over her haunting ghost. Simon tells Roelf not to worry because he can organize for him to bury the next body in the morning and assume that the corpse is Red Doek’s. Roelf gladly agrees to the plan. When Simon sleeps at night, Roelf wakes up and starts digging the grave in preparation for the next corpse the following morning.
Simon tells the audience that the grave gangs (magenta) killed Roelf while he was digging the grave at night. The gang buried Roelf in the same grave he was digging. Mr. Mdoda and Simon exhume Roelf's body for a proper burial. The police officers come and accuse Simon of Roelf's murder. Mr. Mdoda defends Simon but fires him for causing trouble. The play ends with Simon telling the audience that he is now officially jobless.
