The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Emecheta, Buchi. Second Class Citizen. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1975.

The novel opens in Lagos, Nigeria in the 1950s. Adah Ofili is eight years old and she wants to get an education, but most families only send their sons to school. She is so determined that she sneaks off to school one day, causing her mother to get into trouble with the police. She is caned by her father as a result, but her parents allow her to continue going to school. While this is occurring, a lawyer returns to Lagos from studying in the United Kingdom (U.K.). He is given a hero's welcome and Adah decides she would like to go to the U.K. someday as well.

A short time later, Adah's father passes away. She is sent to live with her uncle and cousins, and they treat her like a servant. She continues to attend school, but by age 11 her family is entertaining prospective husbands for her. She steals money from her cousin to pay an entrance exam fee for high school, and though she is once again caned for her disobedience, she passes the exam and earns a scholarship to attend. All the while, Adah remains focused on her dream to someday go to the U.K. and to have a successful, career-oriented life. After high school, Adah has to marry simply so she has a place to live. She chooses a man named Francis Obi who is studying to be an accountant. She moves in with her in-laws and gets a job at the American Consulate Library. Francis is uneasy about the idea of his wife earning more money than him, but his father points out that she is supporting them and he should be happy about this. Shortly after giving birth to their first child, a girl named Titi, Adah tells Francis about her dream of going to the U.K. and he agrees to go with her. However, Francis's father does not approve because Adah is a woman and thinks only Francis should go. Francis leaves, and shortly after giving birth to her second child, a boy named Vicky, Adah convinces her in-laws to allow her to follow him.

When Adah arrives in the U.K., she is shocked by the poor conditions of the neighborhood and house Francis has chosen for them to live in. She is also bothered by the other residents in the house, as they are all of the Yoruba ethnic group, whereas she and Francis are Ibo (Igbo). Francis tells her that they cannot expect better conditions because they are Black and therefore “second-class” citizens (39). Adah gets a job at a library in North Finchley and soon finds herself pregnant again. She leaves her children with a babysitter named Trudy while she works, because Francis claims he must study for his accounting exams during the day. He also refuses to get a job. One day, Adah goes to Trudy's during the day when she is not expected and finds her entertaining a male guest while Titi and Vicky are outside playing in the garbage unsupervised. Adah is furious but she has nowhere else to leave the children. A short time later, Vicky comes down with meningitis and nearly dies. Adah confronts Trudy and throws a vacuum cleaner at her. The children are enrolled in a nursery.

Adah and Francis are evicted from their apartment because the landlady and the other tenants dislike them. It is challenging to find a new home because many advertisements feature the caveat “Sorry, no coloureds” (70). Adah finds an ad that does not say this, and she disguises her accent on the phone when she speaks to the landlady. However, as soon as she and Francis arrive to look at the apartment and the landlady sees that they are Black, she sends them away. They finally find a place to live in the house of another Nigerian immigrant called Mr. Noble.

Shortly thereafter, Adah feels unwell. The baby is kicking a great deal but she is not due to give birth for weeks. She tries to go to work but there is a railway strike so she returns home. Francis gives her a lecture about laziness and Adah goes to the doctor, who tells her she is in labor. She is bleeding and therefore sent to the hospital for a Cesarean section. The baby is a boy. When she wakes after the surgery, she is in the maternity ward with other women who have just given birth. She is jealous of their nice nightdresses and their husbands who lavish them with attention and gifts. Francis rarely visits, and when he does, he is sullen. Adah thinks the other women are judging her because of her race.

When Adah leaves the hospital, she goes to a family planning clinic to try to get birth control. She needs Francis's signature, so she forges it. Francis finds out and beats her mercilessly. A short time later, Adah discovers she is pregnant again. She tells Francis that she will no longer support him financially and he must get a job. When she delivers her fourth child, a girl, Adah decides to write a book while she is on maternity leave.

Adah shows the book to her friends at the library and they are very supportive and recommend she send it out to publishers. Francis is less impressed and burns her manuscript. He has failed his accounting exams repeatedly and he does not want to have a wife who is more accomplished than he is. They quarrel again and Adah takes the children and moves into her own apartment. Francis finds her there and beats her again. Afterward, Adah goes to court to try to get an order of protection. Francis lies and claims her injuries are all the result of falls, but the court orders him to pay child support. On her way out of court, Adah runs into an old friend from Nigeria. He pays for her taxi ride home.