Chapter Seven and Eight Summary

Ford sits on a dock reading the newspaper when he sees the article that the Masagua President Don Jorge Balserio has been killed by a bomb placed in his briefcase. He remembers his dislike for Balserio, which brings him back to Pilar. Pilar hated her husband and was forced into marrying him. However, once in power, she was an efficient leader behind the scenes, making radical changes yielding positive moves for her people — while her husband took full credit for it. However, when Balserio finally hears rumors that Pilar was in love with Ford, he sent her to a convent. When she is gone, his government broke out into more and more violence and unrest, destroying all the good that Pilar had done for the country.

Ford calls Major Lester Durell, a cop who is fastidious...