April 1958. Princess Tshala Nyota is among the eleven “villagers” put on display at the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels. The young princess recounts her journey from her home of Kasaï to a Catholic school run by nuns, where she meets and falls madly in love with a handsome Belgian administrator. Fearing for her life and his own, Tshala's lover sends her to Léopoldville to stay with his friend, a collector and dealer specializing in African art. Soon after, she mysteriously disappears. August 2003. Nyota Kwete, the princess's niece, is sent to Brussels to continue her education at the university. Before she departs, her father charges her with the task of discovering the fate of the missing princess. In Brussels, she is welcomed by the Congolese diaspora community and crosses paths with a Belgian scholar who is haunted by his own ghosts. Together, they uncover important secrets that were taken to the grave.
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