Nwokocha Agbadi
Agbadi is a prosperous chief. He becomes infatuated with the daughter of a neighboring chief, Ona. After being wounded on an elephant hunting trip one day, he comes to under the care of his beloved Ona. Soon he marries her. After a disappointing first birth, they have a daughter together and named her Nnu Ego. He cares for his destitute child long after her mother's subsequent death in childbirth.
Ona
At first, Ona does not wish to marry Agbadi because she fears his kingdom is too close a rival to her father's. After nursing him back to health, however, she relents. She's a defiant young woman who has her own plans for her life but remains thoroughly devoted to both husband and father.
Nnu Ego
She is Ona's sole surviving child. Her name means "twenty bags of cowrie shells." She's treated for her value in bringing forth children, but after a failed first marriage she begins to doubt that she will bear children. Eventually, she does, but they are all disappointments to her. After her husband neglects her again and after her children all leave home to pursue their own ways, Nnu Ego grows bitter. She lives with her father until his death, when she becomes a peasant. She dies in ignominy, but her children erect a shrine for her in the village where other women who desire to have children may pray. Legend holds, however, that Nnu Ego repented from her desire for motherhood long ago, having learned how disappointing her children could be.
Amatokwu
He is Nnu Ego's first wife. When he learns she cannot bear children, he leaves her for another woman.
Nnaife
Although Nnaife is a surprising match, he makes Nnu Ego happy for sometime. As a couple, they struggle because he loses his job. Meanwhile, they have four children. He's a strong and confident husband, but they are no well off. After his brother dies, he inherits his brother's estate and wives and begins pursuing other wives besides Nnu Ego.
Adaku
She is Nnaife's brother's youngest wife. She moves in with her brother-in-law's family after her husband's death, but she is aggravating toward Nnu Ego. Eventually she is kicked out and becomes a prostitute on the streets.
Okpo
Okpo is Nnaife's second wife, an unexpected bride. She bears him many children and becomes a formidable rival to the more established Nnu Ego.
Kehinde
Kehinde is Nnu Ego's first daughter. A troubled child, she leaves home early with a stranger she meets from Yoruba. The couple's union is undesirable to her father, who quickly assaults the man's father. This lands Kahinde's father in prison and ruins her chances of a suitable marriage.
Oshia
Oshia is Nnu Ego's eldest son. He desires to study in America, which thoroughly frustrates his parents who have saved long and hard to put him through school. When he does leave, he takes with him all of his parents' plans to see him return and help the family with the raising of his younger siblings.
Adim
Adim is the second son. He moves to Canada after his dad's imprisonment. He has no desire to remain connect with his family back home.
