Chapters 21, 22 and 23 Summary

Jasmine looks in on Du, who is tinkering with another one of his many electronic projects in his bedroom. Having been orphaned in Vietnam, Du has had no training in electronics, but he possesses a natural ability to mend scavenged items. There is a bond between Jasmine and Du based on their respective survival skills, and for the first time Jasmine tells her son that she has killed a man. Du barely acknowledges this fact because he himself has killed many men in his short life.

Bud is in Des Moines this weekend for another banking industry convention, where he has been asked to speak. Jasmine can tell that something has unnerved Bud when he calls this evening, because there is a tremor in his voice. Bud tells Jasmine that a radical threatened him after the speech tonight. This incident is...