The following version was used to make this guide: George, Jessica. Maame. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2023. The novel is 307 pages and 43 chapters long with an epilogue, but for the purposes of this guide will be broken into six sections.

The novel opens with Maddie taking care of her father before work. He has Parkinson’s, and since her mother is in Ghana for a while and her brother James has moved out, she is living at home and taking care of him. Maddie works as a personal assistant at a theater for a moody boss suffering from depression. On the weekend Maddie cleans her father’s room and goes to church. Her mother calls to say she is coming home from Ghana, so Maddie can move out. One day Maddie comes back from lunch to find her boss having a breakdown, angry with Maddie. Maddie then goes to a show at the theater and meets Ben, and he asks for her number.

Maddie starts the search for a new apartment - meeting her flatmates Jo and Cam. Soon after putting down the deposit, Maddie is fired. Her mother comes home from Ghana to take care of Maddie’s father, though Maddie and James are worried about Mum’s ability to care for their father.

Maddie’s mother opines about Maddie’s life, while Maddie job searches and texts with Ben. She gets an interview with a publishing company - OTP, and moves into her new flat. She makes a New Maddie list outlining all the new experiences she will try. She gets the job with the company as an assistant. She goes to Ben’s house for a date, and he makes her a fancy dinner. At work Maddie starts to think about ideas for a new cookbook of flavor pairings. Jo invites Maddie and Cam to a week in Italy for the summer and Maddie agrees, though she will come a day later since they want to leave on her father’s birthday. She goes to Ben’s house for a second date and he tries to have sex with her, but Maddie confesses she is a virgin and they stop.

OTP runs with Maddie’s cookbook idea, though does not give Maddie credit. She goes on a third date with Ben to the movies, and afterwards they have sex - Maddie’s first time. It is very painful and Ben does not use a condom. Maddie starts to prepare for her father’s birthday the next day, but Jo convinces her and Cam to go out that night - since Jo’s boyfriend Sam broke up with her. They get very drunk and high, and Maddie sleeps in the next day, even though she is supposed to be home for her father’s birthday. She wakes up to her Mother calling her, telling Maddie her father has died. Cam and Jo are leaving for Italy, and Maddie tells Jo if Jo had not insisted she go out she could have seen her father one more time, and Jo says it is not her fault. Nia comes over as Maddie grieves. James accuses Mum of not taking care of their father, and going out with her boyfriend instead of being there for their father. Maddie decides to go on a date with Ben - a work event. While he gives a speech, she meets a white woman who claims she is also Ben’s girlfriend. Maddie runs home, crying.

Ben comes over and tries to make up with Maddie but she refuses. Jo and Cam come back from Italy, and Maddie apologizes to Jo but Jo is frosty. Maddie’s family starts to gather for the funeral, but no one has enough money to pay for the service. Maddie has to empty her savings account to pay for most of it. Maddie and her mother handle the death logistics, while Maddie grieves, having panic attacks, and staying home from work. Jo and Sam are on the rocks again, and Maddie meets him and likes him. She sends an application to Carrow books for a diverse writers program, and starts using a dating app - sending messages to a guy named Alex. She gets back online for work and realizes that they are moving forward with one of her ideas, but she did not get any credit.

Maddie goes back to the office and starts to go on dates with Alex. Maddie’s boss insists she sees the office counselor. The counselor is also Ghanaian and they talk about the weight of the moniker Maame. Maddie, walking home, sees her mother at a coffee shop with a man consoling her. She runs home, and confronts her mother and brother over their treatment of her - yelling at her mother not to call her Maame. She has sex with Alex but it is uncomfortable, and they break up when she says she does not like sex. In another counseling session Maddie has a panic attack and her mother has to take her home. She admits to her Mom she feels her Dad’s death is her fault, and they talk about the name Maame.

Maddie’s father’s funeral is filled with family and Ghanaian customs. Afterwards, she starts talking to her father out loud, as in prayer. They host a birthday party for Jo, where Maddie and Sam start talking. Maddie decides to confront her boss Penny about wanting more substantive work, and OTP taking her ideas. Penny agrees to bring Maddie in to creative meetings. Sam signs on with OTP as an illustrator, and Sam and Maddie start dating. The family hears from their father’s lawyer, who bequeathed his inheritance - 50,000 pounds - entirely to Maddie. Maddie has sex with Sam and enjoys it. The book ends as she gets an email from a publisher about her Carrow application and asking for more content. In the epilogue, Maddie talks to her father in the cemetery about Sam, her job, and the book she is writing.