One day in 1968 at the height of the Biafran civil war Ijeoma's father is killed and her world is transformed forever. Separated from her grief-stricken mother she meets another young lost girl Amina and the two become inseparable. Theirs is a relationship that will shake the foundations of Ijeoma's faith test her resolve and flood her heart. In this masterful novel of faith love and redemption Okparanta takes us from Ijeoma's childhood in war-torn Biafra through the perils and pleasures of her blossoming sexuality her wrong turns and into the everyday sorrows and joys of marriage and motherhood. As we journey with Ijeoma we are drawn to the question: what is the value of love and what is the cost?