Where the False Gods Dwell

Inspired by legendary choreographer Katherine Dunham’s groundbreaking expedition into the heart of Caribbean dance culture, this sweeping historical novel imagines the lives of three extraordinary women who join her journey in search of purpose, only to find themselves fighting to survive one of nature’s most devastating trials.

Chicago, 1935. Othella is an orphaned con artist desperate to escape the city’s ruthless criminal underworld. Vivian Jean is a wealthy socialite, scholar, and aspiring anthropologist determined to prove herself in a male-dominated field. Zinzi is a fearless Jamaican labor organizer committed to challenging the injustices of her homeland’s plantation system. Through a remarkable series of twists of fate, all three become part of Katherine Dunham’s expedition to the Maroon village of Accompong, deep within Jamaica’s remote Cockpit Country.

As the expedition unfolds, each woman embarks on a deeply personal journey. Othella earns the trust of the group while struggling to keep her dangerous past hidden. Zinzi’s intimate knowledge of the island opens doors to discoveries few outsiders have ever witnessed, even as forbidden love and political resistance threaten everything she holds dear. Meanwhile, Vivian Jean’s research contributes to Dunham’s pioneering work while forcing her to confront the emotional burdens of her own troubled marriage.

But as personal conflicts give way to a far greater danger, a deadly storm descends upon the island, placing the women’s dreams—and their lives—in jeopardy. Bound together by circumstance, they must forge an unlikely sisterhood, discovering that survival depends not only on courage, but on one another.