All seems to cave in on Kofi. His stubbornness makes him experience near-death in the turbulent Mandimbo River. As the river's current roars with the unceasing flow, Kofi's life glows in an uncultured grim. His pursuit of a duckling that has eaten his food led him into the river.

The sun battles with the furious clouds as it crawls to its setting nest. As Kofi nears the brink of death because the river swallowed him, a renowned fisherman, Bonkolivi, a man many consider unforgiven, dives from his fishing boat to rescue Kofi. Probably, the fisherman has turned a new leaf. He fetches Kofi from the womb of the river. He was on the cusp of drowning.
Unconscious Kofi is brought to the shore. Bonkolivi resuscitates him. The women who had tied clothes around their stomachs praised the fisherman for showing human feelings. They also honour their gods for manifesting their saving power through the fisherman. They then dole Bonkolivi money to compensate him for his life-saving work.
Children hooted, booed, and called Kofi names as Bonkolivi leads him home, to his mama.

Kofi's parents aren't well-to-do. They hardly make ends meet; they are peasant farmers. At five, they returned home to see specks of the rice they left for Kofi being swallowed hurriedly by hungry hens and their chicks. Mama doesn't know Kofi's whereabouts. She combs the neighbourhood in search of him but to no avail. Eventually, she has to run the errand Kofi should have.
As the smoke from the tripod cookware stove watered Mama's eyes, she hears the not-so-distant cry of numberless children in the street. Kofi's name had been used to compose a song: Kofi maso y3 den menteas3m... To wit, Kofi is headstrong and doesn't listen to any advice.

Bonkolivi hands Kofi to his mother and demands payment for rescuing her son. Mama pleads she doesn't have even a penny. When the fisherman pressed further, she unwraps a five-cedi note from her farm clothe and gives it to him. "This is not a good price; I want all my money!" "How much is your charge, brother?" Mama asks. "Twenty cedis; no reduction!" Bonkolivi rained. Kofi's father who was sick-abed because of excess tobacco smoking, journeyed to the compound. His plea is parried by Bonkolivi, nearly hitting the frail man in the face.

As the fisherman hand-carry Kofi back to the shore to drown him because Mama couldn't pay his charge, neighbours come around to plead with him.
Fortunately, a passerby, Afrifa, comes to the house, and after learning about the situation, pays the twenty-cedi fee to Bonkolivi.

As time passed, Afrifa seeks Kofi's help to poison a chief from Zumba, a village that had been at peace since its inception with Saposo, the village in which Kofi lives.

Kofi has to juggle accepting his benefactor's offer with saving Mama from daily beatings from his stepfather, Opanyin Kwapia, with his catapult; his father died a few months ago.
Kofi has an eye for beautiful things- the girls. Nevertheless, he doesn't associate much with the beautiful girls in his school. They mostly ridicule him for his unshod, below-par appearance.

Nita has caught Kofi's attention with her calm, kind and beautiful attitude. She considers Kofi deadwood. Kofi distances himself from her at school. One day, Kofi is called to duty. Nita is fear-stricken as a snake terrorises her on the way to school. Kofi races to her rescue on the footpath that leads to the school. They become friends...

Afrifa succeeds in convincing Kofi to poison Nana Ahouf3 in Zumba; this nearly sends Zumba to war with Saposo. Kofi saves the day by revealing the culprit. Afrifa rages and plans to kill Kofi for telling on him.

The intimacy between Kofi and Nita glows. Will Afrifa succeed in killing Kofi? Where does Kofi's love for Nita lead him? Will his stepfather stop beating Mama after his catapult knocks his tooth asunder?