University lecturer, Soumaya Dramé, abandons her job in England to go after her mother, Pearl, who, in the wake of a quarrel with her Senegalese father, AI, has fled to Senegal. Determined to track Pearl down before her despondent father does something foolish, Soumaya enlists the help of a charismatic photographer, Aziz. As they navigate a place she is from but not quite a part of, Soumaya meets her Senegalese relatives – and also runs into a beautiful older woman who seems to be stalking her. Set mostly in sunny Dakar, The Chameleon Girl is the story of a woman of dual identities confronting her parents’ past amid secrets, stereotypes and cross-cultural family tensions.
