Bernadette and Melvin are an engaged couple who flee Alabama, we don't know why, and attempt to seek asylum in a newly independent Ghana. This was a compelling premise and started out with a nice layer of magical realism, specifically concerning mermaids. Kwesi has his own connection to mermaids, and in his job as a Ghanaian "tour guide," develops an infatuation with Bernadette, who is posing as a missionary with Melvin while they attempt to make contact with Melvin's college friend, President Nkrumah, first prime minister and president of Ghana, who Kwesi is desperate to play the guitar for...

I enjoyed the interconnected plot and the balance between the Ghanaian and American viewpoints to experience 1966 Ghana. There was an enjoyable undercurrent of humor, specifically depicted in Bernadette's worldview. And Kwesi was a splendid gentleman to spend time with as well. In fact, I could have used a lot more of these two and skipped the itinerant FBI agent gone rogue desperate to track the Americans and save his failing career.

Ultimately the end got quite wild, with a lot of threads pulled and some action sequences that left me confused. Yet overall I enjoyed the journey to a place I have visited a few times in literature, but never quite like this.