In "Mugumo," a woman who is beaten by her husband and unable to bear children runs away from her hut to a valley of ghosts, which she invokes so they carry her spirit away. However, when she spots the sacred tree Mugumo, she runs to it at falls asleep. She believes that she was touched by the god Mumbi and runs back to her hut, pregnant.
"And the Rain Came down:" When Nyokabi realizes that she is about to grow old without any children, she runs away from her home and reaches a forest. Nyokabi wishes to be washed away by the rain, but when she hears the cries of a baby, she musters all her strength and rescues the little child. She brings the baby back home, making her husband proud because it turns out that the child belongs to Njeri, who she used to hate because of her many children.
"Gone with the Drought:" The narrator meets an old woman who is considered crazy by the rest of the villagers. However, he feels sorry for her and brings her some food. She tells him the story of how she lost her child and other relatives in previous droughts, and when it finally rains again, the woman is huddled up in her hut, ready to join her dead family members.
"The Village Priest:" Joshua, a Christian priest converted by a missionary named Livingstone, comforts the people of his village while they are suffering from a severe drought. However, when the village rainmaker sacrifices a ram, the rain seems to come immediately. Joshua thinks this is because the God of the white people does not listen to a black man, so he walks to the altar of the old God to make peace. However, there he meets the rainmaker, who mocks him. Full of shame, Joshua goes back to his hut, where Livingston has arrived in the meantime. The missionary gives Joshua strength and restores his faith.
"The Black Bird:" A young man named Mangara believes to be affected by a curse that was put on his father, who died shortly after seeing a black bird. In medical school, Mangara reports that the bird has visited him as well, and he dies shortly after failing the final exam.
"The Martyr:" Mrs. Hill, a wealthy landowner, discusses the murder of a European couple with her friends. Later that night, one of her servants plots to kill her so he can reclaim the land of his family but then he realizes that he cannot kill a mother. In fact, he tries to save her from his friends who also want to kill her, but when he knocks on the door, Mrs. Hill shoots him dead because she fears that she would end up exactly like the murdered couple.
"The Return:" After spending five years in a detention camp, Kamau returns to his village only to find out that his rival Karanja has taken away his wife Muthoni after claiming that Kamau has been killed in the camp.
