Effia and Esi: two sisters with two very different destinies. One sold into slavery; one a slave trader's wife. The consequences of their fate reverberate through the generations that follow: from the Gold coast of Africa to the plantations of Mississippi: from the missionary schools of Ghana to the dive bars of Harlem. Spanning continents and generations, Yaa Gyasi has written a miraculous novel- an intense, heartbreaking story of one family and, through their lives the story of America itself.