Book 1, Chapter 5 Summary

When the taxi arrives in Port au Prince, Atie begins shouting the names of places she and her sister used to go. When they were young, she and Martine—Sophie's mother—would sneak into the city on Christmas Eve wearing their Sunday dresses. They would pretend to be students at the university and make dates with men for the following day, which they would never keep.

Just outside the airport, there is a huge traffic jam. The taxi driver explains that they are changing the name of the airport from François Duvalier to what it was named before Duvalier was president, and there is trouble. On the way to the airport, Sophie sees a car on fire, an army truck and a group of student protestors being beaten by soldiers. Atie asks Sophie if she sees why she is leaving...