PROMISES

From warm Kampala to gloomy London, Goretti Kyomuhendo's novel charts the joys and tribulations of Ajuna and her fiancé, Kagaba.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. In indifferent London, Kagaba must battle the cold, and the cold shoulder of the city — delivering leaflets, cleaning train toilets, scrubbing hotel corridors — while telling Ajuna back home that he is a "sales manager".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 vibrant characters, it examines the promises we keep and those we break when relationships are profoundly tested by distance and circumstance. It is a vivid tapestry of Ugandan family life, and catches the universal emotions of love, death, and betrayal.