Cara Romero

Cara Romero is the first person narrator and main character of the novel. Cara is a 55-year-old woman from the Dominican Republic. She emigrated from the Dominican roughly 27 years prior to the narrative present. In her first session with her career counselor, she says that she “came to this country because my husband wanted to kill me” (3). She later reveals that her ex-husband, Ricardo, found out about her affair, and cut off her lover’s leg. When Cara discovered what Ricardo had done, she fled her home with her infant son, Fernando, convinced Ricardo would kill her next. Shortly thereafter, Cara left her home and moved to New York City.

Ever since her arrival in the States, Cara has lived in a rent-stabilized apartment building in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Not long after her arrival, she helped her sister Ángela and brother Rafa come to New...