MAMA BAHATI – middle aged market woman, a good business woman who is stronger ans smarter than she thinks. She lives with her abusive husband and is unable to stand up to him. Her recently widowed daughter has gone missing.

INSP. TUMBO – forty-something chief of police, corrupt and ignorant. He does not believe that women are good for much more than serving his needs. He would rather milk petty criminals for bribes than actually arrest them.

DEPUTY SIFA – young, eager police officer, she is bright and quick-witted. She is often at the receiving end of criticism and derision in her job because she is a woman, and has developed a slightly bitter and brittle edge to her personality.

TIM TAABU – young schoolteacher, he is fun-loving and bright. His family has forcibly inherited Raha Bahati, and he is torn between his family allegiance and what he feels is right.

TUMAINI – Mama Bahati's closest friend. She looks out for Mama Bahati, and always has some wise advice.

MAMA SWEETY – changa’a brewer, she is street savvy and knows how to use her assets,. She is good natured, though, and tries hard to give her family more opportunieis than she had. She is also a bit of a witchdoctor.

BABA BAHATI – Mama Bahati's husband. He is arrogant, self-righteous and drinks heavily. He is abusive towards Mama Bahati, and believes a woman's job is to do what her man says.

TAUSI – Mama Sweety's neice, and Tumbo's secret lover. She's in high school, but is forced to deal with adult issues when she finds Tumbo has gotten her pregnant.

RAHA BAHATI – Mama Bahati's widowed daughter. She is sweet but strong-willed, and refuses to bow to the will of her late husband's family, even though it puts her life in danger.

Mama Bahati’s daughter Raha has been missing for three days. Mama Bahati is worried and suspects foul play on the part of her inlaws. They wanted Raha to be inherited by her late husband’s brother, and both Raha and Mama Bahati were against it. She has been asking around to friends and relatives, but no one knows anything. When she tries to report the matter to Inspector Tumbo, he brushes her off saying, ‘do you want Raha to be lonely without a man?’

On his way out of the station to hassle changa’a brewer Mama Sweety, Inspector Tumbo finds that a new Deputy has been posted to his station. He is unimpressed by Deputy Sifa’s neat appearance and military manner, and talks her down, telling her she is unable to work as a police officer because she is a woman. He finally assigns her simple clerical tasks and tells her that her job is to make coffee.

At the changa’a den, Mama Sweety begs Tumbo not to arrest her. He agrees to a bribe, which was all he was really after anyway, and she gives him some money and a bottle of her ‘special brew.’ After he leaves, Sweety’s cousin Tumaini stops by to ask for Sweety’s advice about Mama Bahati. She is afraid Mama Bahati’s husband will beat her to death. Sweety gives her a bottle of her ‘special brew’ as well and tells Tumaini that when Mama Bahati drinks it, she’ll have the power to solve her problems.

Tumaini gives Mama Bahati the drink and she falls over in a dead faint.

Inspector Tumbo wakes the following morning to find he is now in Mama Bahati’s body. He cannot believe it’s real and runs to the station. At the station, Tim Taabu is reporting to Sifa that Mama Bahati is harassing him and his family. Mama Bahati (with Tumbo’s mind) runs into the station and heads straight for the chief’s office. When she tries to explain who she really is, Sifa threatens to have her taken to a mental hospital. Disheartened and confused, she leaves.

Inspector Tumbo (with Mama Bahati’s mind) comes in to the station. He isn’t sure what to do as a police officer, but knows he wants to find Raha. He tells Sifa to start looking into the case immediately. Sifa is surprised at his behaviour, but happy to be doing her job again.

At the market, Tumbo goes to Tumaini to tell her what’s happened. They are both shocked and excited.

Before Tumbo can really begin the investigations in earnest, he is distracted by Tausi, who is pregnant by Tumbo and claims he was going to force her to get a backstreet abortion. Tumbo pleads with her to hold off and consider her options before doing something dangerous. Confused, she agrees for now.

Sifa goes to investigate the deserted Taabu compound to see if anything is amiss. She is caught by Tim, who threatens her softly about trespassing. Just before she leaves, she spots a piece of torn kanga and takes it with her as evidence.

The next day the Taabu clan pays a visit to Tumbo, demanding to know why he is investigating. Mzee Taabu reveals that they paid Tumbo KSH10 000 to keep the case under wraps. They offer him more, and the enraged Tumbo orders them out of his office.

Back 

Meanwhile, Mama Bahati has been struggling to keep up with her daily duties. She does not know how to set herself up at the market, and the other market women tease her mercilessly. She is also being beaten regularly by Baba Bahati. One day, he comes home drunk and demands that she have sex with him. When she refuses, he overpowers and rapes her.

She goes to the station to report. Sifa takes her statement and tells her they can arrest Baba Bahati if she wants. She agrees, and Baba Bahati is arrested. After she’s finished at the station, she goes to Mama Sweety’s for a drink. Mama Sweety reveals that she knows the truth about Mama’s identity, but that there is nothing she can do for now. Mama Bahati will just have to be patient.

Tumbo is beginning to lose hope, but Tim, frantic and panicky, tells Sifa and Tumbo that Raha is alive, that his family was holding her captive, but once the investigation started, they left and took Raha to a secret location. His family refuses to talk to him, saying he is a traitor. Tim knows they’re going to far and decides to join the search. Tim and Sifa go to investigate the area she was last seen, and Tumbo goes to the market to tell Tumaini what happened.

At the market, the women are discussing Baba Bahati’s arrest. They won’t allow Mama Bahati to sit with them, saying she’s ruined her own house.

Sifa and Tim are searching near the river. As they search, Tim professes his love for Sifa. Before she can respond, they discover there are people across the river at the supposedly abandoned quarry. They try to get across, but they are ambushed and Sifa is badly injured. The Taabu clan, worried the Inspector is getting too close, decide the time has come to kill Raha.

In the meantime, Tausi has been trying to decide what to do about her pregnancy. She has become increasingly anxious and paranoid that her Aunt will find out, so despite Tumbo’s pleas, she decides to have the abortion. She visits the notorious Mama Dawa, the local backstreet abortionist. Mama Dawa is rough with her, and leads her to a dirty mattress. The girl on the mattress beside her is bleeding badly and can barely speak. Tausi becomes frightened and breaks free of Mama Dawa’s grasp before anything can happen. Afraid, alone and a bit lost, she calls Tumbo for help.

Tumbo takes Tausi back to Mama Sweety. The two reconcile, and Tausi promises to work harder at school instead of fooling around with older men in bars. While at Sweety’s compound, Tumbo gets a call that Sifa has been injured. 

Sifa has sustained a head injury, though she is lucky and it isn’t as bad as it could have been. She is forced to remain behind while Tumbo and Tim go back to the quarry. They know they have to act fast now that the Taabu’s know they are hot on their tail. At the quarry, they find Raha tied up in a cave, but in their haste to get her free, the Taabu’s catch them. Sifa, who is in the middle of a radio call with Tumbo, is the only other officer to know something has gone terribly wrong.

Tim, Raha and Tumbo are all tied up in the cave. Mzee Taabu reveals why he captured Raha, and the clan decides to kill all three. However, at their moment of apparent victory, Sifa suddenly appears, disabling the Taabu’s with a well-placed shot in the leg. She helps Tumbo, Tim and Raha free, Sifa shocks Tim by giving him a loving kiss, and Tumbo makes his triumphant arrest.

Back at the station, Tumbo and Sifa talk about her and Tim’s budding love. Mama Bahati, who has heard about the arrest, comes to talk to Tumbo about getting her body back. Poking fun at the peculiarities of the other’s body, the two walk off to Mama Sweety together.