Set in the Nigerian city of Lagos, GraceLand is the story of a teenage boy named Elvis Oke, who is trying to escape the poverty of his community. Starting out as an Elvis Presley impersonator, he takes on a wide variety of jobs, many of which place him in criminal situations.
The novel jumps between two settings, the village of Afikpo from 1972 until 1981, and Lagos from 1983 and onward. This allows readers to observe the shifting nature of Elvis' family dynamic, which changes drastically after the death of his mother and his subsequent move to Lagos. The complexities of maintaining familial and cultural ties in a modernizing society is brought up as well, which is mirrored in the dramatic fragmentation of Elvis' family as the novel progresses.
In Lagos, Elvis is torn between the influences of two characters: his friend Redemption, and the self-proclaimed King of Beggars. Many of the illegal ventures that Elvis partakes in are due to Redemption's influence, and these escapades often lead to conflict with a man known as the Colonel, a prominent and corrupt member of a brutal military regime. The King of Beggars, on the other hand, attempts to direct Elvis to a different path. His presence throughout the novel serves as a crude, and often ignored, moral compass.
Towards the end of the novel, the story briefly diverts its attention from Elvis to take on a slightly larger scope. It depicts the struggle of Elvis's community in resisting the demolition of its home. Elvis’ father and the King of Beggars both play prominent roles in leading the community in protests against the corrupt government's crackdown on the impoverished residents of the slum.
