Àpínkẹ́, a spinster in Ìrírídọgbọ́n village, goes to Ìyá Ìrètí (a hairdresser) to make her hair. She also seeks advice on who to marry between single Fìtílà and married Adéṣeun. Ìyá Ìrètí tells her her own experience with polygamy.
Adétutù is warned by her father, Orísunwọ̀n, against marrying Àkànbí (from Àgbábú Village) because the oracle says he is likely to take a second wife. Her mother (Olúfúnkẹ́), impressed by Àkànbí's wealth, tells her to get pregnant for him to force Orísunwọ̀n to consent to the marriage. She obeys her mother and becomes Àkànbí's first wife. She bears 3 children (Adéṣẹwà , Adépéjú and Adéolú) before he marries Ọmọ́ṣọlá. One day , while their husband is away, Ọmọ́ṣọlá fights Adétutù and accuses her of being behind her 5-year childlessness. After chasing Adétutù into her room, she later admits (in a soliloquy) : (a) being naturally childless ; (b) being behind the deaths of Adéṣẹwà and Adépéjú; (c) her readiness to kill 6-year-old Adéolú too, in order to make Adétutù ("the favourite wife") childless like her. Adétutù overhears her, quickly packs her belongings and flees with her only remaining child. On her way to her parents' house at Ìrírídọgbọ́n, night falls and she spreads a mat to sleep with her son by the roadside. When she wakes up the next day, Adéolú is nowhere to be found! When she gets to her parents' house and tells them, they send Tàlàbí (her younger brother) to summon Àkànbí. Tàlàbí comes back to report Àkànbí's death in his sleep.
Adétutù remains single because: (a) no bachelor will want to marry a mother of 3 ; (b)she doesn't want to marry a married man and face the problems of polygamy again. Her hope of finding Adéolú makes the people around her nickname her "Ìyá Ìrètí" (= Hope's mother).
14 years later, Agbọmọlà (who inscribed Adéolú's traditional facial marks in childhood at Àgbábú village) sees him working on a farm in Onírèké village. After noticing the marks and asking for his name, Agbọmọlà asks to see his parents. His adoptive parents, Akínbámi and Ìbídùn, admit seeing him wandering about as a 6-year-old and remembering nothing else except his name, Adéolú. They follow Agbọmọlà to hand him over to his mother at her village. Adéolú takes good care of his mother and doesn't even want her to work for money but she doesn't want to be idle.
Even though nobody is contesting Àkànbí's property with her, Ọmọ́ṣọlá decides to eliminate Adéolú. While reciting the incantations over a pot of charms, the charms boomerang on her and she runs mad. She confesses her atrocities (including killing Àkànbí) before she is stoned to death by a crowd.
Àpínkẹ́ now decides against a polygamous marriage. Let's hope the bachelor she marries won't marry a second wife after her. After all, Adétutù too married a bachelor.
