Michael Williams

Winner of the 2014 UKLA Award

Deo is a great footballer, a fierce protector of his older brother, Innocent. His brother is easily nervous, easily happy but good at keeping score on the dusty fields of Zimbabwe where the boys play.

Then Mugabe's soldiers come, destroying the only home the boys have known. Now, Deo has nothing but his brother, and a football stuffed with billions of worthless dollars. And so starts their journey to find their father. But with soldiers everywhere, they have only one chance to cross the border, one chance to escape.

In face of such a challenge, it is Deo's brotherly love that endures, his belief that he will lead them both to safety. Micheal Williams's is a masterful storyteller who pulls you along the journey of a lifetime. Deo and Innocent's journey is a universal story of hope in the face of despair, and the search for a better life.