SYNOPSIS

Seventeen year old Mamie has fled from the Democratic Republic of The Congo in the hope of finding a safer life. She has lost her sister and doesn’t know what has become of her or their parents. Mamie is without a passport, and is therefore questioned by immigration before being sent to a new home in Birmingham.

But when she arrives in Birmingham Mamie loses her papers. Mamie despairs but encounters Shiku, 13, another African girl who appears to be in the same boat. Mamie and Shiku do not share the same language, yet they form a bond. Mamie promises to take care of Shiku. Mamie is happy – Shiku will be her new sister!

Together the two girls explore the sights of Birmingham. Mamie tries a flower in her hair from a market stall. Mamie feels both sad and happy because the flower makes her remember her own sister. That night they sleep rough but the next day Mamie is filled with new hope when she discovers that Shiku has papers! The two girls spend the night in a police cell, as sisters, while the authorities look for suitable housing. Mamie promises Shiku that she will look after her until she discovers that Shiku has stolen the flower from the stall. Mamie feels so betrayed that she tells the authority that she and Shiku are not sisters. Subsequently the girls are separated, with Shiku going into a foster home, and Mamie a squalid hostel.

Mamie and Shiku now face their separate ordeals. After getting a deportation notice Mamie disappears to join many other illegal immigrants who are forced underground and then exploited. And Shiku is unhappy in her foster home and fails to make friends in school.

She is on a bus when Mamie spots Shiku in the street and the two girls are reunited. By now Mamie has had to break a few rules herself and regrets being so harsh about rejecting Shiku over the flower. The two meet in secret because Shiku’s family forbid her from having friends. Mamie tells Shiku that she must stick up to her foster parents and Shiku finally flips out, wrecks her foster parents’ house and locks herself in the bathroom where she completely breaks down.

Shiku’s foster parents, the police, and social services listen as Mamie stands outside the locked bathroom door and tells her story. Shiku also listens. We all learn Mamie’s story. And we learn that Mamie’s story, is Shiku’s story too. When Mamie has finished, Shiku opens the door and falls into Mamie’s arms.

Mamie finally gets Leave to Remain. Shiku gets a birthday party. The two sisters have a new life in the UK.