River Spirit

The setting is 1890s Sudan. When Akuany and her brother are orphaned in a village raid, theyre taken in by a young merchant, Yaseen, who promises to care for them a vow that tethers him to Akuany into their adult years. As revolution starts to brew, led by the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Sudan begins to prise itself from Ottoman rule and everyone must choose a side. Yaseen feels beholden to stand against this false Mahdi, a decision that threatens to splinter his family. Meanwhile, Akuany moves through the country alone, sold and traded from house to house, with only Yaseen as her intermittent lifeline. Their struggle mirrors the increasingly bloody struggle for Sudan itself, for freedom, safety and the possibility of love.