Ralph was in awe of his father for his traditional leadership and the pomp and the pageantry that was part and parcel of the package of Chieftaincy. He lives a semi-royal life as the townspeople doted on him for being one of the chief's sons. But the package also included other elements of a traditional leader of the town - the fetish priests, the shines and lesser gods. Ralph was in awe of his mother, the Christian woman whose father was blinded in one eye by a falling mortar as he volunteered his masonry services in the construction of a church. Ralph's parents married long before his father became the chosen one to lead his traditional townspeople. Ralph's mother, still dedicated to her religion, becomes a leader in the church. Ralph finds himself between the two leaderships - the traditions of his father's leadership and his mother's Christian leadership. As circumstances push him further and further from semi-royal providence, Ralph engages in escapades not entirely fit for the son of a chief nor the leader of a Christian church. Bursting with humor, intelligence and heart, The Regal Episodes is a thoughtful and easy reading tale of one man's journey from the limited family opportunities in culturally rich Ghana to the hope and freedom he finds in America