Summary

As the most fluent English speaker in the family, Samra takes to customs officers, afraid of saying the wrong thing in getting her family arrested or deported. After getting through customs, the family goes to live with their aunt who'd previously emigrated. Samra's family has come to Canada with her cousin Nasir and they are waiting for her father to join them soon. At the local park, Samra lingers around the rose bushes that remind her of Pakistan. After hearing her mother complain about their dwindling finances, Samra sells bouquets of roses to people in the park. However, instead of being pleased as Samra expected, her mother is upset that she is approaching strangers.

Samra gets her first period the day her father arrives in Canada. At first, she thinks she is dying and even after telling her mother, she gets no sex or...