First published in The New Yorker in 2007 and then included in her critically acclaimed collection The Thing Around Your Neck, "Cell One" is a powerful tale set against a backdrop of Nigerian corruption. When a rash of gang violence on a university campus leads to a shooting, a young man named Nnamabia is jailed for possible involvement. Visited daily by his parents and younger sister, Nnamabia nevertheless begins a steady decline. More than anything, he fears being taken to Cell One, where unruly prisoners are sometimes beaten to death by police.