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Aku-nna's education ensures that she will fetch a good bride price. Her lover looks on helplessly as Aku-nna is forced into an arranged marriage by her ambitious uncle.

'Always remember that you are mine', says Aku-nna's father before he dies. But as Aku-nna approaches womanhood her ambitious uncle makes plans to marry her off for a high bride price. Caught in a web of tradition, lust and greed, Aku-nna falls for the one young man she is forbidden to love.

Buchi Emecheta's autobiography spans the transition from tribal childhood in the African bush to life in North London as an author.

In a bid to lead an independent life, a middle-aged woman overcomes guilt and learns to believe herself and her dreams.

Emecheta's most critically acclaimed work is remarkably different from her earlier work. The Rape of Shavi (1983) is a novel about the encounter between Africa and the West. In it, the residents of Shavi, a fictional African country, are visited by a group of whites who survive a plane crash. The passengers were fleeing what they believed was an imminent nuclear holocaust. The visitors discover a world undisturbed by external political disputes or Western influence. Though initially unconvinced that the crash victims are human the Shavians give them food, shelter and medical attention. Eventually, most of the new arrivals gain respect for their hosts. Unfortunately, things take a bad turn when one of the Europeans rapes Ayoko, a girl who is betrothed to the king, and gives her syphilis. Later, one of the Shavians named Asogba goes to Europe with the whites after they repair their plane. He returns power-hungry and intent on conquering nearby tribes using technology he acquired while abroad. Eventually, he marries Ayoko, who unknowingly gives him syphilis. He passes it on to his other wives, and dies childless. Shavi is initially devastated by this encounter, but its residents ultimately come away from it with an ability to understand the implications of westernization and technological advances.

On the death of her parents, a young Ibo girl's greedy brother sells her to a wealthy relative and she must learn to live the life of a slave. She clings to her sense of identity, determined to be free one day.