"Feeding the Ghosts" is inspired by the true story of the Zong massacre, in which the captain of a slave ship ordered over 130 sick enslaved people to be thrown overboard to their deaths. The novel focuses on Mintah, an enslaved woman who survives being thrown overboard and secretly climbs back onto the ship. From her hiding place, Mintah attempts to rouse the remaining captives to rebel against the killings.
When the ship finally reaches London, the captain confidently lodges his insurance claim for his losses (the more than 130 enslaved people he had murdered by throwing them overboard), but his claim is challenged and the voice of the enslaved woman who returned from the dead is heard again.