Veronica Mercier, a sophisticated Caribbean woman teaching and living in Paris, journeys to West Africa in pursuit of her “identity.” There, she becomes involved with a prominent political figure—and must find her way among the often misleading guises of ambition, idealism, and violence. Conveying a mosaic of feelings (from childhood and adolescence in Guadeloupe, university days in Paris, and experiences in Africa), Heremakhonon—“Welcome House” in Mande—also invites the reader to enter the acrid world of modern Africa. French-language edition published in 1976.