Yara, the novel’s protagonist, is a Palestinian American woman who is a mother to two daughters. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Fadi, and, at the novel’s beginning, teaches a course in art history and works as a graphic designer at a local college. She is a complex figure who is characterized through her modern identity, the value that she places on work and education, her love for art and cooking, her interest in race and social justice, and the way that she is shown to heal from generational trauma.

Yara feels caught between traditional Palestinian culture and liberal American values. While she is more modern than her conservative family would like, she also finds fault with much of white American culture. Yara desperately wants to be allowed to define her own identity and not be forced into an entirely traditionally Arab or completely American mold. Although there is much about her culture that she values, she is not deeply religious, does not wear a hijab, and feels ill at ease among her mother-in-law’s more traditional friends. They all think that Yara is “too modern,” and she feels judged by them.

Although no one in her family truly supported her in her endeavor, Yara pursued a college education and then, after the completion of her degree, obtained a position at a university.