Summary

Beginning in 1951 Lola and Oscar’s mother, Hypatica Belicia Cabral goes to live with her cousin, La Inca, in Bani in the Dominican Republic. She helps in the family bakery and, like Lola, has dreams of escaping. At the time, the country is ruled by the dictator Trujillato, who is rumored to have killed Beli’s family and taken their home. La Inca reminds Belicia that her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse, and expects her to carry on the family’s good name.

When Belicia is thirteen, her grandmother gets her a spot in El Redentor, a high-class school, believing it will help remove some of Belicia’s rough edges. Instead, Belicia feels exposed and vulnerable. Instead of trying to fit in, she is aggressive and over-reacts to even the smallest...