When the story begins she is ten years old. At the age of fourteen she runs away with Modu, the boy she has loved since she was old enough to speak. The consequences of the adventure is severe.
The traditions of the village include marabouts (fortune tellers/healers), superstition, and the Islamic religion. As a girl Adama meets her spirit animal, Owl, who follows her throughout her journey.
Adama is married off to a man she does not know. Modu is married to a girl chosen by his parents shortly after that. Most of the men in the village have more than one wife.
