Adah's life in London has not turned out as she had imagined when she moved from Nigeria to join her husband. Now that she is a single mother living in a dank, crumbling council state in North London with her five young children, her options are very limited indeed. The more Adah learns about the complicated system that keeps her family safe but trapped in poverty, the more determined she is to escape the confines of her new world and create a better life for her family.

In the Ditch, Emecheta's debut novel, began life as a column in the New Statesman. Drawing on first-hand experience, an unflinching eye for detail and unfailing sense of humour, Emecheta paints a moving picture of life for the most vulnerable families in British society: the difficult choices and false hopes as well as the unexpected friendships that prove essential for survival.