' Twenty years after living there as a child, Alexis Keir returns to the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. He is keen to uncover lost memories and rediscover old connections. But he also carries with him the childhood scars of being separated from his parents and put into uncaring hands. Inspired by the embrace of his relatives in the Caribbean, Alexis begins to unravel the stories of others who left Saint Vincent, searching through diary pages and newspaper articles, shipping and hospital records and faded photographs. He uncovers tales of exploitation, endeavour and bravery of those who had to find a home far away from where they were born. A child born with vitiligo, torn from his mother's arms to be exhibited as a showground attraction in England; a woman who, in the century before the Windrush generation, became one of the earliest Black nurses to be recorded as working in a London hospital; a young boy who became a footman in a Yorkshire stately home. And Alexis's mother, a student nurse who arrives in 1960s London, ready to start a new life in a cold, grey country - and the man from her island whom she falls in love with. 'Being Black British is more than an identity, it is a journey into uncharted waters of personal history. .' David Lammy ... Profound... written in lyrical cinematic prose. I reread many passages strictly for their beauty.' H. Nigel Thomas ... like reading about your own ancestors, who were once lost but now found and brought to life... .' Anni Domingo 'A , illuminating read. .' Irenosen Okojie , evocative... tells the story of modern Britain as much as it does of this one man.' Stella Duffy and .' Goodreads reviewer ' Goodreads reviewer ... an ancestry, allowing those forgotten to be placed into history forevermore.' Goodreads reviewer , and every word is ... eye opening... A very special story by a talented author.' Goodreads reviewer