Summary

The novel begins with a poem written in the shape of Syria. It personifies the country as someone dying with a broken heart, describing the suffering faced in this war-torn country. The writer regrets leaving their homeland behind, and knows they will always remember where they came from. One day, they say they might even go back home.

The narrator, Nour, tells the reader that her father (whom she calls Baba) is buried in Manhattan and that the salt from her mother’s tears is everywhere in the house. They get a call from a relative in Syria and Nour hears Abu Sayeed’s voice, which she says is honey-yellow. He convinces Nour’s mother to move to Syria with Nour and her two sisters Huda and Zahra as they are struggling to sell maps after Baba...