Summary

The situation in Iraq has deteriorated considerably in Chapter 7, as Rita drinks too much and feels frustrated that the streets have become too dangerous for foreign journalists. The journalists from the Standard travel in armored cars and lie down in the back so as not to be seen by insurgents, who kidnap foreigners in Iraq and ask for huge sums in ransom money. Rita receives an email from Bobby announcing that he will soon be deployed to Iraq, to Ramadi, one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq. Then Rita must travel to the Green Zone to cover a story about the Coalition Provisional Authority and its efforts to rebuild Iraq. Nabil gets a call about a neighbor’s son who was kidnapped and takes the day off to help his family. Rita goes to the Green Zone without him, taking only Ali, the...