Felicity Alexander is supposed to be charming audiences at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, not under house arrest in Grenada in October 1983 when the Americans invade.

Growing up mixed-race in Winnipeg, Felicity endures racial slurs from her peers, leering looks from men, and resentment from her Grenadian mother. But Felicity is blessed with an extraordinary talent; she leaves for London in 1965 with dreams of opera stardom.

There, Felicity finds her purpose on stage, and happiness in Claude Buckingham’s arms. Their intense affair cannot survive their competing destinies. Claude returns to Grenada to bring revolution; Felicity chooses music over love, triumphing in the overwhelmingly white opera world. But the more she shines, the more she feels alone.

In Grenada, their reunion is interrupted by a coup. Staring down the barrel of a gun, Felicity’s loyalties are tested again: she must choose between love and freedom. She must decide where home is.

Zilla Jones is an African-Canadian anti-racist educator, lawyer, mother, and singer of Caribbean, Chinese, and European heritage, writing on Treaty 1 territory (Winnipeg). She was born in the UK and now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is a winner of the Journey Prize, a finalist for The Writers’ Trust Bronwen Wallace Emerging Writers Award, and a finalist for the CBC Short Story Prize. Her writing has appeared in many literary journals including The Fiddlehead, Prairie Fire, The Malahat Review, and Bayou Magazine.

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