Eleven-year-old Nola is doing her best to save money so that her grandmother can travel to Suriname to scatter her late grandfather's ashes, but plane tickets are expensive and saving up takes a long time. When Nola finds a bag of stolen money, she puts aside her conscience and decides to keep the loot. After all, it's for a good cause. But whether that's a wise decision.

The young teenager Josie grows up in a house with a lively family where the door is never closed. There is always a lot of hubbub, banging on doors, a TV playing and a big brother coming by to tease her. She does not like the bustle or noise at all. When one day she happens to be home alone for the first time, she cautiously looks around with new eyes. She finally has everything to herself. But perhaps it is a bit too quiet now. The title of this debut is Swahili for 'silence'.