The Catch

Low moon closes in, and the bride is never allowed to be alone.

Kalonji Kabeya comes back from Kinshasa for his brother's ceremony and finds a village newly rich, newly careful, newly watching. Zola Ilunga, the city bride, wants a stable life-and she wants to believe Mbuyi's tenderness is real. But every "gift" tightens a rule, every smile comes with a handler, and the wedding date snaps to low moon like an order. With tides controlling movement and local authority for sale, Kalonji has only...