In August 1990, Souad is living in Paris with her aunt Mimi while attending an arts program focused on textiles and painting. Her parents had initially refused to allow her to study abroad, and it was only after much arguing and Mimi’s promise to look after the girl that she was able to move. She wakes to the television. Since the Gulf War began, she sleeps only fitfully and at odd hours. Like everyone else in the household, she is glued to any news of the conflict. Her friend Elie has lived in Paris on and off for his entire life, and she marvels at how sophisticated he and her cousins seem. In Paris, she feels old-fashioned and dowdy, although in Kuwait she had been stylish and modern.

The war has thrown everything into upheaval. Her brother’s studies have been disrupted, and he is considering studying architecture in the United States. Her mother and father leave Kuwait City for the safety of Amman, and they want Souad to join them there. She would prefer to remain in Paris. She loves the freedom she has to go out, sit in cafes, smoke, and make her own decisions. She loves its intellectualism and its cosmopolitanism.