“Their bulk filled the foyer and pushed the oxygen out. Huda retreated down the hallway careful not to turn her back. The men followed. Sand crunched beneath their boots—no amount of sweeping could keep the desert out. The fine grains went where they wanted, just like the officers of the mukhabarat.”

In this first introduction to the mukhabarat, Wilkinson draws attention to Huda’s powerlessness in the face of these two men. Just as she cannot keep the sand out of her house, no amount of effort will prevent the mukhabarat from forcing their way in, not even a padlock on the front gate. The description of pushing out oxygen implies that Huda needs to hold her breath, or avoid speaking, while the men are present, indicating the danger of drawing any attention to oneself.

“‘What brings you to Baghdad, Ally?’ Before she could answer, Tom leaned forward. ‘I’m the deputy ambassador at the Australian embassy.’”

Tom intercepts a question that Rania intended for Ally, answering with his own occupation. This rudeness shows his willingness to overshadow Ally’s life and goals, for the emphasis on his own career clearly takes precedence, and the fact that Tom answers not with Ally’s current occupation but with his own also reflects Ally’s powerlessness upon her arrival in Iraq. This exchange foreshadows later conflicts for Ally with other diplomats and with Tom, as well as her internal conflicts about her goals in Baghdad.

“Screw it, Ally whispered to her reflection, words can’t hurt. The catcalls of the street were no worse than the solitary confinement inside her rented home of marble and concrete. She wrapped a thin cotton scarf around her neck, checked the bulging contents of her handbag, then fished out her keys and set to work on the front door. She turned three locks, pulled aside a bolt, and unlatched a chain, then heaved open the door.”

The contradiction in this passage between Ally’s acknowledgement that words cannot physically hurt her and the numerous locks on her front door present a tenuous contrast between bravery and foolishness. While Ally is brave to go about her life regardless of the harassment she faces, the locks on her door indicate the possibility of threats that go beyond just words.