The Returnees

An unforgettable tale of female friendship, love and mistaken identities set in modern Nigeria, from an exciting new voice in women’s fiction.

‘[An] evocative tale of identity, friendship and unexpected love’ Mail on Sunday

‘Marks Okoh as an exciting new voice in contemporary fiction.’ AnOther magazine


After a bad break up, 25-year-old Osayuki Isahosa leaves behind everything she holds dear in London to return to Lagos, Nigeria: a country she hasn’t set foot in for many years. Drawn by the transformations happening in the fashion industry in the city, she accepts a job at House of Martha as their Head of PR. While waiting at Milan airport for her connecting flight to Lagos she meets Cynthia Okoye and Kian Bajo.

Cynthia Okoye is a 21-year-old recent graduate whose laissez-faire attitude to life has become her undoing. Unsure of how else to help put her life back on track, her father banishes her to live with his brother in the capital city where she’s required to attend the National Youth Service Corps.

Kian Bajo is a wannabe Afrobeat star whose left everything he knows in London to make it big in Lagos., Enthralled by the international success of young artists from his motherland, he will go to any lengths to conquer the Lagos music scene.

After the plane lands at the Lagos airport, they all go their separate ways but their lives will intertwine again and change the course of their lives forever.

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited