A short prologue informs the reader that Nigeria is a country in West Africa where the majority of its population lives in poverty. Adunni is a 14-year-old Nigerian girl. Her mother is dead, and she now lives with her poor family in a small village. One day, her alcoholic father tells her that the family can no longer afford to pay their rent. However, an old man named Morufu who drives a taxi offered him a large sum of money to marry Adunni. She feels her heart break because she dreams of finishing her education. Her father informs her that the marriage is already scheduled for next week. 

Adunni does not want to marry Morufu, who already has two wives and four children. Although the death of her mother was a harrowing experience, she did not allow herself to mourn for long. Adunni decided that she must work hard to take care of her father and her 11-year-old brother Kayus, even though the memories of her mother are painful and raw. Before she fell ill, Adunni’s mother was very busy in the village. She earned the money for the family and helped to feed many of the older people in the village.