Our story begins in Africa…

It is a story of hope and of home and of a love; “so strong that it tore the night sky apart and made all darkness a lie.” A story that breaks all the rules, and where the future is as unpredictable as the storm clouds that roll across the oceans.

Our journey begins in Africa where the beating sun bakes the earth and fever trees shimmer in the distance. At night, the endless sky stretches across a world with stars so bright that they fill your eyes with tears and threaten to break your heart.

Far in the north a civil war is brewing. Fear is spreading and hundreds of people must flee their homeland. Nelson, a young prince of his tribe, decides, against his mother’s wishes, to join the army to defend his country, while his younger sister Grace must discontinue her medical studies and leave her home to find safety on the other side of the world. Together with hundreds of refugees, they say their heartbroken goodbyes, not knowing whether they will ever see each other again. 

On the journey,

Grace meets Lindiwe. Street smart and vivacious, she has run away from an abusive husband and, unlike the other travellers, who are filled with sadness, she is filled with joy and is celebrating her new-found freedom. When she hears that Grace is hoping to catch a boat across the sea, and realizing how ignorant Grace is about the dangers involved, she offers to help her in return for the fee for an extra berth.

When Grace and Lindiwe disembark from their ship in the dockyard of a great American city, they are met by a host of fellow migrants who are not keen to welcome more people like themselves. A striking, young, Fish Factory worker called Isabella takes pity on them when she sees their helpless plight. Isabella is beautiful, bold and sexy and when the local gang lord Ivan arrives, she steps up to him using all her feminine guiles to persuade him to let her sing at one of his clubs. Ivan, while speaking to Isabella, has spotted Grace and, struck by her innocent and luminous beauty, decides that she would make a very attractive addition to the girls working at his many, and mostly unsavoury, clubs.

bewildered and exhausted

Isabella and her fellow Fish Factory girls assist the bewildered and exhausted Grace and Lindiwe and advise them to go to The Mantis Club. There they will find a man called Sam, who may be able to help them with a place to stay. 

On the way to the club they pass a construction site where a handsome young man, Rafael, the leader of a team of workers, is being asked by his men to confront Ivan - to ask him for an increase in their wages. Rafael resists, as he knows that this request cannot succeed. Ivan is ruthless and makes his living by exploiting the many desperate migrants in the city. He tries to tell them that he is working on a plan to achieve a better life for them all, but they are impatient and insist that he at least try to speak to Ivan.

At this moment Isabella, who is Rafael’s sister, arrives and excitedly tells them that Ivan has agreed to let her become a waitress at The Mantis Club. She hopes that this will be a first step to her becoming a singer and invites her brother and his crew to come along to the club that evening.

Rafael and his best friend Ben are appalled. They know that any involvement with Ivan will inevitably result in suffering and danger but they do not know how to stop the headstrong Isabella.

On their way to the Club, Rafael’s attention is caught by the sight of Grace and Lindiwe walking in the shadows and for a brief moment he is curious and watches them.

At the Mantis Club, while Isabella charms the patrons with her wit and sass, Rafael quietly asks one of Ivan’s men, Dino, for a word with Ivan. Dino sneers at the request and the deeply insulted Rafael throws the first punch. The club erupts in violence and much later, seated amongst the broken chairs and tables, Isabella, thinking that she is all alone, reflects angrily on her broken dreams.  

At her new home, Grace, who is tired, homesick and overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sounds of the city, climbs up onto the roof deck of the apartment block to find peace amongst the stars. Unexpectedly she finds Rafael there.  He is disappointed with himself at what happened in The Mantis Club and, seeking some distraction from his difficulties, asks her to tell him a story from her homeland. While she tells him a beautiful African tale of danger and love, he is moved by her enchanting voice and finds himself falling in love with her. 

a beautiful African tale of danger and love

Back in the club, Ivan, furious that his club has been trashed by Isabella’s brother, threatens her and Rafael. He tells her that Rafael must leave the city forever if he wants to live and that she will never work in his club again.  Desperately she tries to persuade him to give her another chance. She tells him she will do anything to become a singer. Ivan quickly realizes that this is his chance to get hold of Grace and agrees to let Isabella return, only if she delivers Grace to him. Isabella, even though she knows that this will put Grace in great danger from a very evil man, agrees to do so.

Outside the club, Ben, Rafael’s young friend, who is helplessly in love with Isabella, is waiting for her to make sure that she gets home safely as the city streets are filled with a dangerous tension after the fight in the club...

And thus our story continues. Rafael must leave the city or be killed by Ivan and his gang, Isabella has sold her soul to the Devil, while Grace, unaware of the great danger that is about to befall her, tries to find a space for herself and Lindiwe in a new community filled with new friendships, heartaches and yes, even new things to laugh at and be happy about.

Back in Africa, where the war has turned against them, Nelson and his fellow soldiers are fighting for their lives.

And as we watch the moon travel

across the skies from continent to continent…

we are left wondering whether Grace will find the true meaning of home, whether hope and love will overcome fear, whether the stars will bear witness to courage and compassion, or whether hatred and greed will tear everything apart…

We are left wondering!

To find out what Happens…

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