Fifteen-year-old Kambili lives in Nigeria in the late 1990s. Her wealthy parents try to shelter her from the turmoil caused by the corrupt government, but her dysfunctional family mirrors the world outside. Kambili's father terrorises her and her brother, Jaja, with his ultra-religious rules. After a military coup, the children stay with their open-minded Aunt Ifeoma, and here Kambili begins to question her father's values. The young narrator presents a simplified view of this troubled country. Some of the characters are a little too familiar - the naive schoolgirl, the poor-but-cheerful aunt, the brutal father, and the battered mother border on cliche. But Adichie gives Kambili's father an extra dimension by making him a crusader for democracy. He publishes the only newspaper that dares criticise the government and wins a human rights award. And just as he stands up to the dictators, his own children must stand up to him.