Jaquira Díaz

In Puerto Rico, Maricarmen dreams of escaping the limitations of her working-class neighbourhood, el Caserío. At seventeen, she falls in love with Rey el Cantante, a charismatic local musician whose generosity makes him a hero to some residents and a target for the police. Their relationship defies her family’s expectations, and Maricarmen soon finds herself building a life with Rey, raising their daughter, Nena, and caring for his younger brother. But addiction, violence, and painful betrayals gradually threaten the family she has fought to protect. Fifteen years later, a murder investigation forces Maricarmen and Nena to confront the consequences of their shared past. As Nena struggles with grief and explores her sexual identity, mother and daughter must navigate their complicated relationship and a community divided by loyalty, prejudice, and loss. Spanning generations, This Is the Only Kingdom is an intimate portrait of family, belonging, and survival, exploring how love can sustain people even as inherited wounds threaten to tear them apart.