SANKOFA is an Akan word that means, one must return to the past in order to move forward. Mona, a contemporary model, is possessed by spirits lingering in the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana and travels to the past, where, as a house servant called Shola she is constantly abused by the slave master.
 
Nunu, an African-born field hand, and Shango, Sholas West Indian Lover, continuously rebel against the slave system. For Nunu this means direct conflict with her son, a mulatto benefitting from the system as a head slave. Inspired by Nunu and Shangos determination to defy the system, Shola finally takes her fate into her own hands.