Ifemelu and Obinze, a couple in love, depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Ifemelu heads for America, where she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Obinze plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.

Mia Tang's sixth grade year complicated by a hard-to-please teacher, financial setbacks at her parents' motel, and a looming immigration law that threatens to derail her entire life.