Oluoma was her father's favorite, until her mother died. Now a young maiden, beautiful and motherless, she lives under the cruelty of her stepmother Nwoye, who beats her, starves her, and sends her to fetch firewood and water at midnight. On the night of the Eke dance announcement, broken and weeping at her mother's grave, Oluoma meets a stranger. A kind, wealthy man in his fifties who cannot forget the girl crying in the dark. He wants to save her. She wants to survive. But in the nine villages of Omatu, a girl seen with a man at the cemetery at night is condemned. And Nwoye will use that night to destroy her forever. A heartbreaking Igbo village story of jealousy, forbidden love, and a girl whose tears become her strength. *Tropes:* Step-mother abuse | Age-gap | Village romance | Orphan to Queen | Slow burn