Hope and circumstance define a young womans life in this heartbreaking tale of lost innocence, set in politically volatile 1990s Nigeria, from an exciting and fresh voice in global literature.

For as long as she can remember, Patience Adewale, the eldest daughter of Chief Kolade Adewale, has been waiting for confirmation that she is loved, that there is a place where she truly belongs. Patience lives a sheltered life within the secure walls of the familys mansion in Ibadan, but finds no comfort from her distant father and stepmother Modupe. Her only ally is her younger sister, yet even Margarets love and support cannot overcome Patiences insecurity and uncertainty.

More than anything, Patience wants to know why her father and uncle banished her mother from their compound years agoand whether her mother is even alive. Determined to discover the truth, Patience embarks on a desperate search to find her mother. Answers begin to surface when she moves to Lagos for university and unexpectedly reconnects with her cousin Kash.

Kash and his friend Emeka are petty thieves with an opportunity to make a big score. To pull it off they need helpand enlist Patience and Emekas straight-arrow brother, Chike, to become partners in their scheme. The thieves plan is to quit after this job. But unforeseen events lead to unexpected consequencesand demand a price from Patience that may be too steep to pay.

Suspenseful and evoking the subtleties of Nigerian life in an fresh and unexpected way, Patience Is a Subtle Thief is a heart-wrenching story of one young womans precarious journey to adulthood, and the risks and sacrifices it takes to follow her heart.