A young, Black woman named Joy lives in a city apartment filled with unwanted furniture gifted to her by her mother. Most recently, Joy's mother gave her a gaudy mirror. In the mirror, Joy sees "fragments of other women" in herself. She is often visited by her "godmother," whom she describes as "like an ancestor who never really left." The godmother often appears in Joy's apartment as an apparition, interrogates her about what's going on in her life, and gives her unsolicited advice and criticism. Joy has difficulty letting go of two long-ago relationships in her life: one, with her former best friend Nicole, whom Joy often begs to hang out with even though Nicole treats her with contempt; and the other, with her ex-boyfriend André, whom she had hoped to marry but who has a new girlfriend now. Joy goes to a party with Nicole in a rich neighborhood. At the party, Nicole ignores Joy, who feels out of place. Joy realizes the wealthy hosts have left a bunch of wine bottles out in the open and steals one. An Igbo man briefly flirts with Joy, but when she expresses disinterest he angrily says she just wants to be like the white women. Later, at home, Joy calls André. She pretends her life is good and that things are "getting serious" between her and the random man at the party. André seems skeptical and reminds Joy that she rejected him first. That weekend, Joy drives to André's house and sees that André's current girlfriend wears André's shirt. Joy and André have rushed and emotionally distant sex in Joy's car. In a power move, Joy asks for the shirt André's current girlfriend wears. André gets it for her. In her apartment, Joy cries and tells her godmother that she wants André to apologize for not choosing her, and her godmother says that makes her a fool. The next day, Joy wears André's shirt and calls André. In her apartment, her godmother makes her tea, and Joy begins to pray to move on, to accept her life and make new friends, to transform.