Wolwedans In Die Skemer

Sonja Daneel drives through the forest toward the Wolwedans farm when a red-cloaked axe-wielder chops down a tree onto the road. The crash leaves her concussed and imagining a pack of wolves pursuing her as petrol leaks and fiction blends with fear. Adèle and Maggie find her and escort her back to the Njala Hotel, setting the stage for a memory-washed arrival.

Back at the hotel, Jan insists on hiring Sonja as the receptionist. Diana announces Sonja's name and role, but she cannot recall her past beyond a whisper about freedom through the hotel. Sonja begins her new duties while the mystery of her identity remains unresolved.

One evening, after a family quarrel at lunchtime, a cloaked figure with an axe attacks Jan in his study and kills him. The murder pulls Lt Nolte into the hotel’s orbit and sparks a police probe into a series of lodge attacks nearby. Tensions rise as the family secrets threaten to spill out.

Lt Nolte interrogates Sonja, probing for hidden information as he investigates the attacks. Sgt Berta reveals that Sonja's mother was killed in an axe murder about a month earlier, suggesting there may be more to Sonja’s past than she admits. Nolte leaves his business card, foreshadowing future inquiries.

Tour guide Ryno Lategan arrives at the hotel and exudes confidence, claiming to have every personable girl on the menu. He focuses on Adèle and later shows interest in Sonja, giving her the nickname 'Skivvy' and stirring romantic tensions. His presence unsettles the already fragile dynamics of the Joubert household.

Adèle’s relationship with Armand grows strained as Ryno’s scheming potential becomes evident. She is drawn to Ryno and contemplates a future with him, foreshadowing a lavish engagement that could alter the hotel’s fate. Family quarrels intensify as the tension between old loyalties and new ambitions mounts.

Seeking a shortcut near the accident site, Sonja enters a seemingly abandoned log cabin and discovers it is well-kept and filled with paintings resembling her. Memories of her mother’s murder flood back, and she flees in panic, realizing her past is closer than she thought. The cabin becomes a pivot for her awakening.

Ryno takes Sonja to her old house, where a bathroom scene conjures blood and pain. She recalls the nickname 'Skivvy' and learns she is actually Ryno’s half-sister, with her mother Arista having plotted to pull Adèle and Maggie into the Joubert fold. The cryptic line 'The hotel will give us freedom again' deepens the sense of a long-buried conspiracy.

As Adèle’s ties to Armand fray, she sees a path with Ryno and publicly announces their engagement at a lavish party. The decision confirms Ryno’s influence over the hotel’s future and pushes Sonja toward emotional and personal upheaval. The revelation widens the rift within the family and amplifies the coming storm.

Following the party, the ax-wielding killer strikes again, killing Ryno. Sonja, pursued by the unseen assailant, escapes to the cabin in the woods, convinced wolves are latched onto her trail. The chase tightens, making the final confrontation almost inevitable.

Nolte and Berta visit Arista’s old house and uncover a cardboard box labeled with a removal firm, hinting at a hidden past. They find a photograph of Arista with Ryno and Sonja, linking the family’s tangled history to the present danger. They hurry back to the hotel with crucial clues.

In the final confrontation, Maggie steps forward as the killer and reveals the full backstory: she planned to be the hotel’s heir with Ryno, who spurned her. Sonja discloses that she is actually Adèle and Maggie’s half-sister, and that Arista was their mother, concealing the truth since Jan abandoned her. As Adèle and Nolte confront her, Maggie is fatally shot after a tense standoff with an elephant gun and a pistol.