After the conquest of port city Timbuktu by the king of Yorùbáland, nineteen-year-old Òdòdó is kidnapped from her mother, Okόbí, and their blacksmiths' guild to Ṣàngótè, the capital. There, she discovers that a charming stranger she earlier entranced with her trader's song while crafting one of her special silver daffodils is the current ruler, or Alàáfin, of Yorùbáland: Àrèmo. Elevating her from blacksmith, an impoverished working class status scorned for being the domain of unmarried women, Àrèmo decrees that she will be his bride. Òdòdó agrees to marry him only after he brings Okόbí to the royal city to share in her newfound wealth and social status.

Though Òdòdó has Àrèmo's love and affection, her new role as the Alàáfin's ...