Ifemelu, a young Nigerian-born woman who has lived in the US for years, travels from Princeton, New Jersey, where she lives, to Trenton, a nearby city with a large black population. She is going to get her hair braided in preparation for her return to Nigeria, and wonders “why there was no place where she could braid her hair” (4) in Princeton. She watches the other passengers at the train station and wonders what each of them would make of her blog, which explores race in America from an outsider’s perspective. She thinks about her upcoming trip to Nigeria and her recent breakup with her long-term boyfriend, a black American named Blaine.

At the braiding salon, she haggles with the owner and tries to avoid small talk with Aisha, an African hairdresser, who is surprised that Ifemelu wants to return Nigeria and urges Ifemelu to convince Aisha’s Nigerian boyfriend that he can marry Aisha, despite their different tribal affiliations. Ifemelu thinks of Obinze, a former boyfriend, and how he will react to her return. She has sent him an email informing him of her return, but has not heard back