Section 18 Summary

"Zugzwang"

The meaning of this section's title is found in the previous section, when Catherine bullies Lily out of "zugzwang" - being stuck without apparent options. The title foreshadows action in this section, in which Catherine and Lily believe themselves to again be caught in "zugzwang," but like Lily in Section 17, discover a way out.

Catherine and Lily manipulate their way to a car rental office in the city of Oran, some miles from Algiers, where Catherine (using her authority as a representative of the government) to rent a previously reserved car. She uses that same authority to place a call to Therese, who tells her that Sharrif is after her, that Kamel's meeting (at which Catherine supposed to be presenting her proposal) has begun, and that the White Side (meaning El-Marad) has guessed who she really is. Without pausing to consider how...