Amma walks to London's National Theatre for the opening night of her acclaimed new play, The Last Amazon of Dahomey.

Amma and Dominique start their own all-female theater company after struggling to find acting work as Black women.

Dominique meets charismatic African American woman Nzinga at Victoria station and quickly falls in love with her.

Nzinga gives Dominique an ultimatum: move to the United States with her or end their relationship.

At the Spirit Moon commune, Nzinga forbids Dominique from speaking to others and becomes increasingly abusive.

Dominique escapes Spirit Moon with help from commune leader Gaia while Nzinga is away.

Teenage Carole is gang-raped at a party by a group led by a classmate named Trey.

With Shirley King's mentorship, Carole excels at school and earns a place at Oxford University.

Bummi's husband Augustine dies suddenly of a heart attack, prompting Bummi to start her own cleaning business.

LaTisha's father Glenmore abandons his family without warning to live with a secret family in the United States.

Megan meets trans woman Bibi online and begins to discover gender nonbinary identity through their relationship.

With Bibi's help, Megan changes their name to Morgan and adopts they/them pronouns.

After Hattie's father dies, Slim discovers that the family farm was built on profits from trading enslaved Africans.

At the National Theatre afterparty, Carole finally thanks Shirley King for her mentorship years earlier.

Penelope takes a DNA test, discovers she is part African, and travels to Greenfields to meet her birth mother Hattie.

The novel opens on Amma Bonsu walking to the National Theatre for the premiere of her celebrated play, marking the culmination of decades of struggle as a Black, queer female artist. Her best friend Dominique falls into an abusive relationship with Nzinga and must find the courage to escape to Los Angeles, where she rebuilds her life. Across chapters, Carole survives a teenage gang rape in silence and, guided by teacher Shirley King, earns a place at Oxford, while Bummi is widowed and founds her own business. LaTisha's life is derailed by her father's sudden abandonment, and Megan finds her identity through trans woman Bibi, ultimately becoming Morgan. The dark secret of Hattie's family farm is uncovered, the characters converge at the afterparty, and the novel closes with Penelope discovering her African heritage and meeting her birth mother Hattie for the first time.

The core narrative from Amma's opening night to Penelope's reunion with Hattie.

Amma agrees to co-parent a child with her intellectual friend Roland rather than raise the baby alone.

Yazz starts college and befriends a diverse group of students including Waris, Nenet, and Courtney.

Amma travels to America to try to rescue Dominique from Nzinga but fails to free her from the commune.

After settling in Los Angeles, Dominique builds a new life and founds a successful women's arts festival.

Dominique meets her future wife Laverne at a domestic abuse counseling group.

Bummi and her husband Augustine immigrate to England, where Augustine cannot find work with his doctorate.

Bummi begins an unexpected romantic relationship with her employee Omofe.

Bummi ends her relationship with Omofe, unable to face the shame of continuing a lesbian romance.

LaTisha falls into a series of troubled relationships and has three children with three different fathers.

Shirley begins her teaching career at Peckham School full of optimism and a desire to make a difference.

Shirley decides to mentor one student per year and chooses Carole as her very first student.

Winsome and Clovis retire and move back to Barbados, where Shirley's family visits every summer.

Penelope divorces her first husband Giles after he refuses to support her return to teaching.

Penelope's second husband Phillip leaves her for a young patient, ending their marriage.

Penelope's daughter Sarah emails Morgan, who manages Hattie's Ancestry.com account, to connect Penelope with her birth family.

This pool traces the important but often quieter turning points that shape each character's trajectory across the novel. Amma's unconventional decision to co-parent with Roland establishes one of the book's central relationships, while Yazz's college friendships challenge her assumptions about race and privilege. Dominique rebuilds her life after Nzinga, and Bummi navigates immigration, widowhood, a hidden love affair, and the widening distance from her daughter. LaTisha's complicated family life unfolds through a series of poor relationships and absent fathers, and Shirley's professional idealism gives way to pragmatic mentorship. The pool closes in the Epilogue, when Penelope's daughter Sarah initiates contact with Morgan through an Ancestry.com match, setting in motion the novel's final revelation.

Significant moments of growth, loss, and connection woven throughout the novel's lives.

Amma's mother dies, and Amma regrets having rejected her socialist father's love during his lifetime.

Yazz challenges her father Roland on his all-white scholarly references, citing progressive thinkers of color instead.

Bummi urges Carole not to drop out of Oxford, calling higher education Carole's birthright as a true Nigerian.

Carole accepts Freddy's marriage proposal to Bummi's dismay, as Bummi had hoped Carole would marry a Nigerian man.

Bummi performs a sexual favor for a corrupt pastor to secure a loan for her new cleaning business.

LaTisha returns home to find her estranged father Glenmore has come back and decides to forgive him for her son Jordan's sake.

Amma comes out as a lesbian to Shirley at 16, and Shirley feels disgusted but carefully hides her reaction.

Winsome recalls the day Lennox arrived at her home while Clovis was away and seduced her, beginning their affair.

Shirley boasts about Lennox's fidelity, and Winsome — knowing the full truth — responds only, 'You lucky, Shirl, you lucky.'

Young Penelope discovers she is adopted and resolves to fill the emotional void with career, marriage, and children.

Hattie's father Joseph forces teenage Hattie to give up her newborn baby and swear to tell no one.

Grace's mother Daisy dies of tuberculosis, leaving young Grace alone and taken to a home for girls in the countryside.

Grace agrees to marry Joseph Rydendale and moves with him to Greenfields farm.

Roland and Yazz share a quiet moment at the afterparty by the Thames before Yazz leaves to find Morgan.

Hattie confesses to Morgan that she was forced to give up a baby at 14, unlocking the secret of Penelope's origins.

This pool focuses on the private confrontations and concealed truths that quietly drive the novel's emotional stakes. From Amma's late regret over her father to Shirley's hidden disgust at Amma's coming out, secrets and suppressed feelings run through every chapter. Winsome's revelation of her affair with Lennox reframes Shirley's entire marriage, while Penelope's discovery of her adoption plants the seed of a lifelong search for belonging. The furthest reaches of the family tree are illuminated through Grace's loss of her mother Daisy and her marriage to Joseph Rydendale, events that set in motion the multi-generational story of Greenfields. The pool ends with Hattie finally confessing the truth about the baby she was forced to surrender at 14, triggering the novel's emotional resolution between mother and daughter.

Key decisions, hidden truths, and transformative revelations that reshape characters' lives.