Summary

Filomena listened to the story of Manuel, Alma’s father. Manuel grew up with a violent father whom his mother struggled to protect him from. To comfort him, Manuel’s mother invented a place called Alfa Calenda and the two of them would tell each other stories about this place to distract them from the difficulties of their life.

As a young man, Manuel joined a group of dissidents fighting against the rule of the dictator Rafael Trujillo. Someone in their group betrayed them and Manuel had to flee DR for the United States. Although a qualified doctor in his home country, Manuel’s qualifications were not recognized in America.

Manuel’s story is interrupted because Filomena was called away to take a phone call. The call was from Lena, Tesoro’s sister, who explained to Filomena that Tesoro had been arrested for murder...