Section 1 Summary

The story begins in the middle of winter with the main character, Ayah, standing outside in the snow, wrapped in her son's blanket. She is in Navajo country, reflecting on her life and losses. She is aware of the forces of nature - the sun, the wind and the snow - and this awareness triggers memories of her past.

She remembers that she had been proud when her husband Chato first taught her to sign her name in English. She remembers that it was only later that she realized learning to sign her name meant losing her children, Ella and Danny. A white doctor and policeman had come to her home and told her that her children were sick and that they had to take them away. Ayah had not believed that her children were sick but the white men told her that...