Botho Pere finds work as a miner in South Africa and he has to leave his wife, Nthatisi, and their two children behind. Two years go by without a letter from Botho. After Nthathisi loses her job at the school, she has to sell diphathatha to get by.

Botho Pere finds work as a miner in South Africa and he has to leave his wife, Nthatisi, and their two children behind. Two years go by without a letter from Botho. After Nthathisi loses her job at the school, she has to sell diphathatha to get by. When she finally makes her way to Rustenberg on Botho's request, she finds that he has taken a mistress, Jemina. Meanwhile Nthathisi has secrets of her own. These revelations ultimately unravel the delicate thread that has been holding their family together. There is also the mysterious Mokoto always lurking on the periphery of the village We follow Botho and Nthatisi as they navigate their dreams that remain unattainable. The day that Botho decides to take control of his own fate, he is shot and killed outside of the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It is at his funeral that we learn that his spirit lives on - seeking retribution. I Did Not Die is a story about the realities of a migrant worker, but also his wife and children.