When Imogen Zola Nyoni lies in a coma in the hospital after a long illness, her family and friends try to cope with her impending death. Jeni possesses talents that transcend time and space, and this is her story. It is also the story of her ancestors – Bens Tikiti, whose love for travel and adventure led him to change his name and ultimately walk across the Indian Ocean.
This story, with its delicate touches and layer of magical realism, portrays the lives of some families, the fate of a piece of land, and decades of its history – from colonial occupation to the struggle for freedom, to the destruction caused by AIDS, and the man himself! In a way that is always faithful, sometimes mysterious, and sometimes magical, "The Theory of Flight" does not focus on the losses and failures in a nation's history, but rather on personal victories and why they matter.