When she is fifteen, Samya must leave school because her father desires her to enter into an arranged marriage, which will help him personally solve his financial troubles. This marrying off of daughters for social or financial benefit is a normal part of Egyptian culture. Samya, however, is mortified by the entire ordeal. For one, her father can't provide the expected dowry. Although the women in her new village shower her with gifts, they cannot save Samya from her fate. Her new husband, Boutros, is a cruel overlord.
As his wife, Samya is considered Boutros' property. This means that she has no autonomy of her own in the marriage. She's not even allowed to leave the home without his express permission, but many of the women in the village sneak out without their husbands permissions anyway. Although she is young, Samya is ridiculed by her husband for not becoming pregnant. As the years slip by, she becomes increasingly desperate. She even writes her father after Boutros slaps her during a fight, but she finds no solace or sympathy anywhere.
Finally, after seven years of trying to get pregnant, Samya visits the Sheikha, the village fortune teller whom all the women visit for fertility advice. She ignores his advice, but she does become pregnant soon after, with a daughter. Because the girl holds no social utility for Boutros, she becomes Samya's soul charge. Samya is overjoyed with the raising of her daughter, but this too doesn't last. Mia, the child, becomes ill at six-years-old and dies.
Afterwards Samya locks herself away in extreme grief. She is so deeply disturbed by the loss that she becomes nearly catatonic and unable to walk. During this period Boutros' sister cares for her. Upon recovering, Samya has become transformed. She's awakened some innate power within herself. Now she openly blames Boutros for everything that has happened to her and defies him to his face. Although she understands the dramatic consequences of the deed, she shoots her husband dead one day, finally freeing herself from his oppressive reign.
