Pauline is the product of a rape and is abandoned by her Nigerian mother at just a few weeks old. She spends her first few years being cared for by white foster familes until, at the age of four, she is sent to the Dr Barnardo's village in Essex. Then Pauline's mother, Wunmi, appears at the village and takes her away to live in a London high-rise. Wunmi tries to change Pauline into a dutiful African child by knocking the English out of her. Pauline's attempts to survive include sniffing glue and shoplifting until the harsh realities make her think again.