Before the captives. Before the ships. Before the silence crossed the Atlantic—there was memory, and there was fire.

In the Mandingo kingdom of Fadou, a river sings with prophecy, griots carry the truth in song, and love is written in silence. But when foreign ships arrive offering iron and promises wrapped in red cloth, the kingdom stands on the edge of betrayal.

Prince Sika Sackor dreams of peace—but his father's court flirts with war. Assata Fofana, healer and daughter of fire, dreams of chains—and of what must be buried before they come. As griots are silenced, markets burn, and traitors rise from within, Fadou faces its final stand.

Across red earth, beneath baobab roots, and through smoke-filled nights, a generation fights not only for survival—but for memory. Because even when names are stolen, stories remain. And some stories refuse to die.

Before the Chains is a mythic, historical epic of resistance, ancestral power, and love in the shadow of the Atlantic slave trade. For readers of Homegoing, The Water Dancer, and Children of Blood and Bone.