The novel opens with the character of María Isabel in Camagüey, Cuba, in 1866 (Chapter 1, “Dance Not Beyond the Distant Mountain”). María is a cigar roller—traditionally a man’s job—at a small factory; she lives with her mother, who works in the fields. Her story is set against a backdrop of political unrest: Many Cubans are beginning to agitate for independence from Spain, and the Spanish suppression of the revolution is getting violent. María catches the eye of the factory lector, Antonio; after her mother passes away, they begin dating and eventually marry. When the Spanish government orders the factory to fire Antonio from his job to suppress revolutionary speech, María follows, and they start holding reading groups with other revolutionaries; however, Antonio asks María to stop attending the meetings once she becomes pregnant. As she’s giving birth to their daughter, the Spanish troops find the reading group and execute Antonio.