Chris Abani's Graceland is set in late twentieth century Lagos, Nigeria. Elvis Oke lives in one of the most notorious and squalid ghettos of Lagos, he makes a living as an impersonator of his namesake, Elvis Presley. Graceland chronicles Oke's struggles in making it out of the Lagos ghettos.
The book starts with Oke in Lagos, living with his father and step-mother. Oke had lived in the village of Afpiko before his mothers death and the book shifts between the two periods- his time in the village and his subsequent move to the city of Lagos.
In Lagos, Oke lives with his alcoholic father and his rude step-mother who does not care for him. In addition to being an Elvis impersonator, Oke dabbles in a number of jobs, often illegal and dangerous. Redemption, Oke's friend since childhood is the one who often steers him towards these jobs. He is a good dancer and performs on the streets in order to earn money. Oke biggest dream is leave the ghetto and make a better life for himself.
Back in Afpiko Oke lived a different life. He was very close to his mother, Beatrice who always told him that he could achieve anything he wanted. However, when Beatrice died everything changed, Sunday, Oke's father who was never fond of him to begin with grew increasingly violent and abusive.
Oke runs away from home one day but he is kidnapped by thieves. The thieves are involved in the child trafficking racket in Lagos and they take him to an old and abandoned dungeon where they beat him and abuse him. Oke however manages to escape with his life. Now he is even more determined to leave Lagos for good. Oke goes to Redemption in need of money and a place to live. The jobs Oke and Redemption do together are dangerous and immoral, Oke is troubled and his conscience tugs at him. Whilst working with Redemption Oke meets the King of Beggars, a one eyed old man. The man always seems to know what dangerous activities Oke is up to. He serves as the physical manifestation of Oke's conscience. He's always present when Oke is in precarious situations.
Parallely, Oke's home faces the danger of demolition and redevelopment. Sunday and Redemption take to protesting the unfair demolition of their community's homes. Sunday is killed by a bulldozer during one of the protests. Oke feels conflicting emotions on hearing about his fathers death.
Towards the end of the novel, Oke procures a passport from Redemption. He tells the immigration official that he is Redemption and finally leaves Lagos.
