Narrative Landscape Press

Promises are like tilapia from Lake Victoria—glittering, evasive…slippery.

Promises charts the joys and tribulations of Ajuna and her fiancé, Kagaba, from warm Kampala to gloomy London. Young, highly skilled, and ambitious, both are caught up in financial hardship in their native Uganda. When Kagaba leaves for the UK as an economic immigrant, Ajuna’s happy, fulfilling relationship is under threat. And in the indifferent UK, Kagaba must battle the cold, and the cold shoulder of London.

Promises exposes the shadow world of illegal immigrants, and the creativity with which people in the legal margins rise to meet an inhumane system. But for both Kagaba and Ajuna, a glimmer of hope comes from unexpected quarters. Populated with an expansive array of vibrant characters, Goretti Kyomuhendo’s novel examines the promises we keep and those we break when relationships are profoundly tested by circumstances and twists of fate.