Chapter 4, 1924: June 3 Summary

Catalina and Artemio, married for five years, have established an uneasy truce. She is cold and remote during the day, barely speaking to him. At night, her body betrays her and she finds passion with the man she abhors. Catalina's resentment is fueled by the knowledge that Artemio forced Ramon, her lover, to leave town before the marriage. For his part, Artemio seems to accept Catalina's silent daytime contempt as his due.

Don Bernal died shortly after the wedding. As the husband, Cruz inherited the family's extensive lands, which are now threatened by the revolutionaries. Cruz promises the rebels that he will foreclose on a wealthy family and divide their fields with the peasants. He vows to share the fertile irrigated fields as well as the less productive dry land. Instead, Cruz sells parcels of the arid land and buys even...