Disgrace Summary

David Lurie, a twice divorced middle-aged academic from Cape Town, South Africa, sustains his physical desires through a paid sexual relationship with Soraya, a young Black woman. When he unexpectedly discovers that Soraya is a mother of two, things take a turn and she cuts ties with him, leading David to pursue Melanie Isaacs – a young undergraduate student in his Romantic poets’ course. Despite her discomfort, he pursues a sexual relationship with Melanie, which eventually leads to her filing a complaint against him with the university. David remains unrepentant throughout the investigation, refusing the committee's offer of a written admission of guilt to salvage his career, and instead, he willingly departs from the institution in disgrace.

Exiled from his previous life, David retreats to his daughter Lucy's isolated farm in the Eastern Cape. While there, he finds himself pondering a new opera about the scandalous final years of poet Byron's life. Lucy convinces David to volunteer at a local animal clinic run by her friend, Bev Shaw, where he assists in euthanizing old and unwanted dogs. Lucy's solitary life worries David and his concerns are justified when three Black men break into the farmhouse, rape Lucy, and kill all the dogs except one. In the aftermath, David becomes suspicious of Lucy's Black assistant, Petrus, for his absence during the attack, and is shocked to find out that one of the rapists, a youth named Pollux, is related to Petrus.

David's old self continues to wrestle with the new reality, but he develops a degree of compassion through his work with Bev at the animal shelter. His relationship with Lucy comes under strain when she refuses to report the rape and intends to stay put. During his departure from Lucy's farm, David visits Melanie's father to apologize but his sincerity is questioned. He eventually finds out that Lucy is pregnant from the rape and Petrus offers to marry her, an apparent move to acquire her land. After a physical altercation with Pollux, David is asked to leave Lucy's property. The story concludes with David, now living in town, visiting the animal clinic and making the heart-wrenching decision to euthanize a dog he had become attached to.