"At home the debacle began when Jaja, my brother, did not go to communion and Papa threw his big missal across the room and broke the figurines on the glass shelves."

Kambili lives in a wealthy Nigerian family with his older brother Jaja. Their father is a fundamentalist Catholic, highly respected by the Enugu community. But when a coup forces Kambili and Jaja to seek refuge with Aunty Ifeoma, they discover a noisy and lively home and their illusions about religious and paternal authority are shattered. Thus begins a painful struggle to free themselves from the past.