In Africa, Chidi Udo is born under the most tragic of circumstances. His mother doesn't survive his birth, but he does have his father to care for him. He grows to be a young man and does well in school but soon loses his father, too. Due to this further tragedy, he is deprived of the opportunity for the university education he so desires.

Chidi eventually works as an apprentice for a greedy salesman, who starves and mistreats him. He runs away, forced to live independently and even journey to far off America. One day, young Chidi returns to his birth village of Umueze as a self-made man, respected by all--and, yet, the balance of life continues to tip back and forth.

Stages of Life is arranged in endearing, enlightening episodes, punctuated by African folk wisdom, customs, and beliefs. Chidi's life experiences are laid bare for all to see and to decide whether the stages of life are fair, cruel, strange, or beautiful. Chidi Udo is an amalgam of all the triumphs, tragedies, and traditions he has experienced as his life swings like a pendulum.