photo courtesy of FlickR
As Mary Boland contemplates suicide after her brutal rape by three crew members of the Pilgrims Dandy coffin ship,
she looks down and sees two black feet standing before her. It is a boy, darker than anyone she has ever seen in her life.
She recoils in terror from the boy, but gently, calmly, over many weeks, he earns her trust and becomes her life-long soul
brother.
That boy is Kamua Okafor (Kam), the son of an African witch doctor. Kam has been abused by the crew for several years after his
village, Gabon, was raided by slave traders.
Kam watched as his mother and sister were beheaded and his father was dragged in chains onto a different ship headed to God
knows where.
But Kamua has inherited the brilliant mind of his father. Using common kitchen items, he transforms Mary into the dreaded Irish
Banshee. Utilizing inherent Irish fear and superstition, she vanquishes the brutal crew and is able to bring life-saving food to the
starving Irish in the hold.
Yes, it’s good to have a boy named Kam in your corner when you’re fighting for survival in a vicious world.