A sweeping story of two sisters from a small town on Hawaii’s Big Island, whose lives are irrevocably changed when one mysteriously vanishes
Big Island, Hawaii, 1920: The Kau sisters, Kana and Leilani, grow up in a small, remote village, their father the owner of the only store in town, which he inherited from his father and intends to pass on to his daughters. Half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian, they fit right into the changing face of their home, which is ever-evolving as plantation workers come from China, Japan, and Portugal, while off in the islands’ cities, white people from the mainland build up the hotel business with dizzying speed.
The sisters grow from an idyllic childhood into a happy adolescence – until one day Leilani suddenly goes missing. Last seen leaving church, she never makes it home. Grief changes the Kau parents, forcing Kana to run the store on her own, her life settled into place in her teens. But then one day she hears a singer’s voice on the radio that haunts her with its similarity to Leilani’s. And though it’s against every ounce of her practical nature, Kana goes to see this singer in person and embarks on a journey that alters the course of her life...
A sweeping tale of two young women coming of age in a changing world, Sojourners brings to life a paradise discovered, beautifully and poignantly illustrating how malleable even the most indelible parts of our lives can be, and just what it takes to free oneself from the past.