"In 1995, Toby Green became friends with El Hadji, a Senegalese photographer who swore that, in the West African hinterland, there were mystics who possessed the secrets of how to become invisible and invulnerable." "Four years later, he returns to meet up with his old friend, and test the strengths of these surreal claims for himself. Travelling together through Casamance, Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau, their epic journey soon throws up a world where nothing is more fragile than the human body, and nothing more powerful than the magic that subverts it. Immersing himself in a culture where Islam and animism are hybridised and everything has a mystical explanation, Green ventures with El Hadji to remote settlements in the bush where the keepers of ancient knowledge - the marabouts - still retain their authority. Malaria sets in, the mystery deepens, and their enquiries lead to a series of discoveries beyond the realms of fantasy."--BOOK JACKET.