This story of migration, identities and lives undermined by cynical and xenophobic politics pushed to its logical and terrible conclusion pertains to the Ghanaian orders of 'alien compliance' issued in 1970-1971, which was designed to force all non-ethnic Ghanaians, so called illegal immigrants, to return to their - so stipulated - 'home'. the novel thus touches on concerns of deeper relevance to the politics of race and migration in the twenty first century. Unexpected Joy at Dawn received a commendation in the Best First Book Prize, Africa Region, of the Commonweath Writers Prize.