The following version of this story was used to create this Study Guide: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Zikora. Amazon Original Stories, 2020.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first-person short story, Zikora, is written in an atypical structure that moves back and forth between scenes from Zikora's past and present. The following summary assumes a linear form.

As a young girl, Zikora grows up in Nigeria with her unnamed mother and father. They live a happy and peaceful life. Then, when Zikora is eight-years-old, her father marries a second wife. Her mother is fine with the arrangement, because Zikora's father has promised to always return home to them. However, after he has a son with his second wife, Aunty Nwanneka, Zikora's father insists he must move in with his new family. Zikora's mother suddenly seems to change, overcome by despair. Despite her father's faults, Zikora fails to acknowledge his culpability, blaming her mother for her father's absence. Over the years, she continues making all her decisions based on her father's desires, ignoring everything her mother wants. So when her father suggests she study in America, instead of England like her mother wants, Zikora moves to Washington, D.C.

Eventually, she becomes a high-powered lawyer. Though she is content with being single, she is pleasantly surprised when she meets another dashing young lawyer, Kwame, at a book launch. Throughout the early days of their relationship, Zikora is overwhelmed by his maturity and good humor. Sometimes she feels he is too perfect for her, and fears he will soon change, revealing the dark truth of his character. When Kwame does not change, Zikora allows herself to become convinced of their future together.

She even feels proud of Kwame, boasting to her cousin, Mmiliaku, about him during their frequent phone conversations. Though Mmiliaku still lives in Nigeria, the cousins have remained as close as sisters. Sometimes Zikora wonders at her cousin's unfortunate circumstances, wishing she had not married such an abusive man.

Then one evening, after returning home from an event, Zikora tells Kwame she is pregnant. He acts confused, as if he did not understand stopping her birth control meant she could become pregnant. Disinterested in having a child, he offers to pay for an abortion. Zikora does not understand. They are both in their late thirties with stable careers. She wants the baby. Kwame shrugs and walks out on her.

Throughout her pregnancy, Zikora remains consumed by Kwame's absence. She still cannot understand what happened, and why. She obsessively searches her memories for an answer. She rereads their old texts, and tries calling Kwame without success. Mmiliaku insists she has to let him go, trying to encourage Zikora that she will be okay. However, Zikora no longer knows if she will be able to handle motherhood on her own.

When her due date finally arrives, Zikora's mother is the only one who shows up for the birth. In the delivery room, Zikora is crippled with physical pain. She shamelessly expresses her discomfort, which she knows embarrasses her austere and dignified mother. The longer the labor goes on, the more Zikora's anger and frustration turns to sorrow and despair. She cannot stop missing Kwame.

Then, when she holds her son for the first time, Zikora cannot feel what she is supposed to feel. Afterwards, she shows her father the baby on FaceTime. Their dialogue makes Zikora consider her parents' relationship, and all the hurt her father caused her mother.

When Zikora, her mother, and the baby finally return to Zikora's apartment, Zikora feels even worse. She is terrified of doing it alone. Her mother assures her she will stay as long as she needs. Zikora watches her mother care for her son, suddenly able to understand who her mother is.