Meeting a father for the first time brings a whirlwind of emotions and questions, especially regarding the significance of appearance. The protagonist navigates this pivotal moment, reflecting on identity and familial connections while grappling with the weight of expectations. As the story unfolds, themes of self-discovery and the complexities of relationships are explored, highlighting the profound impact of such a meeting on one's sense of self and belonging.
In 1974 Hannah Pool was adopted from an orphanage in Eritrea and brought to England by her white adoptive father. She grew up unable to imagine what it must be like to look into the eyes of a blood relative until one day a letter arrived from a brother she never knew she had. Not knowing what to do with the letter, Hannah hid it away. But she was unable to forget it, and ten years later she finally decided to track down her surviving Eritrean family and embarked upon a journey that would take her far from the comfort zone of her metropolitan lifestye to confront the poverty and oppression of a life that could so easily have been her own.