Holloway arrives in the village of Nampossela and is given the Malian name Fatumata by the villagers.

Holloway watches Monique deliver a baby and names the newborn boy William after her own father.

Monique and Holloway discover that village woman Korotun has been severely beaten by her husband for not becoming pregnant.

Holloway accompanies Monique to a movie screening in Koutiala, where she meets Monique's childhood love, Pascal Konate.

Holloway learns that Monique's first son Louis died from diarrhea before Monique had any medical training.

Holloway discovers that Monique's salary as the village midwife is entirely controlled by her father-in-law and husband.

The rainy season arrives and the entire village turns out to plant seeds by hand in the fields.

A pregnant villager dies shortly after childbirth, leaving Monique and Holloway shaken at the clinic.

Political turmoil and a military coup sweep Mali, prompting the Peace Corps to consider evacuating its volunteers.

Monique hears Pascal's name on the radio listed among soldiers killed in action on the Liberian front.

The restored birthing house is completed, featuring new beds, a new birthing chair, and a fully repaired roof.

Monique's boss Mr. Mariko visits the village and declares that Monique alone has the right to collect her salary.

Holloway and John depart Mali, and Holloway gives her oyster shell necklace to Monique as a parting gift.

Monique visits Holloway and John in America, touring major cities and finally receiving dental treatment.

Holloway receives a letter from Monique's cousin Maxim announcing that Monique has died giving birth.

Kris Holloway arrives in the Malian village of Nampossela as a young Peace Corps volunteer and is assigned to work alongside Monique Dembele, the village's sole midwife. As their friendship deepens, Holloway witnesses the harsh realities of childbirth in rural Mali and discovers that Monique's hard-earned salary is stolen by her controlling husband. Political upheaval sweeps the country, ultimately claiming the life of Pascal Konate, the man Monique has always loved, devastating her. Despite this grief, the two women achieve their shared goal of restoring the crumbling birthing house, and Monique finally wins control of her own wages. Holloway eventually returns to America, Monique visits and they maintain a close bond across the ocean, until a devastating letter arrives announcing that Monique has died in childbirth.

The headline events of Monique's life and death.

Holloway joins the dugutigi and his pregnant wife Mawa to harvest chickpeas, learning how grueling the work is.

Monique and Holloway weigh village babies using color-coded graphs, discovering that a one-year-old girl has been losing weight.

Monique tells Holloway that her husband Francois is sleeping with another woman in the village.

The dugutigi's wife Mawa gives birth to healthy twin boys, fulfilling an earlier double-chickpea prophecy.

A village elder divines Holloway's future, telling her that a white man in Mali will marry her.

Holloway falls severely ill with giardiasis and Monique arrives at her hut to care for her.

Villager Oumou begs Holloway and Monique for birth control, having already lost two children and facing another pregnancy.

The dugutigi grants permission for a young man named Henri to assist at the clinic two mornings a week.

Korotun gives birth to a girl and turns her face away from the baby, knowing her husband wanted a son.

Monique loses Pascal's ring and becomes convinced that the loss is a terrible omen.

A World Vision committee tests the village women on making oral rehydration tea and the women pass with flying colors.

Villager Gawssou's sick daughter is sent to the hospital in Koutiala with money from Holloway and John but dies there.

Monique is given permission to take a vacation to visit her aunt and uncle while Henri and Holloway run the clinic.

Francois visits the clinic while Monique is away and tells Holloway he plans to build Monique a new kitchen.

Holloway and John visit Monique's grave, where John buries a ring in the soil to replace the one Pascal gave her.

Holloway immerses herself in village life, helping Monique track the health of babies, harvest crops alongside villagers, and confront the quiet cruelties of a patriarchal society. She witnesses the joy of twin boys being born alongside the heartbreak of women whose choices are controlled by the men in their lives, including Korotun, who grieves at the birth of her own daughter. When women like Oumou seek help with family planning, Monique and Holloway quietly work to provide options, while Henri joins the clinic to ease the endless workload. The loss of Pascal's ring foreshadows tragedy, and a series of painful deaths — including that of Gawssou's young daughter — underscores how fragile life remains in Nampossela despite every effort. The story closes as Holloway and John return to honor Monique at her grave, with John burying a ring in the earth as a final act of tribute.

The supporting moments that shaped Nampossela's story.

Monique privately admits to Holloway that she does not know what to do about the trouble brewing in her marriage.

With a grant secured and the village elders' approval, plans are set in motion to repair the crumbling birthing house.

Monique and Holloway attend a vibrant communal celebration of Old Woman Kelema's life, filled with singing and dancing.

Holloway confronts Monique about her mysterious weekly letters to Koutiala, and Monique reveals her lifelong love for Pascal.

A sudden rainstorm sweeps through the village, causing severe new damage to the already deteriorating birthing house.

Holloway and Monique decide to secretly store birth control pills at the clinic so women can access them discreetly.

Holloway holds a private meeting with the dugutigi to argue that Monique deserves full control over her own earnings.

Holloway meets with Monique's boss Mr. Mariko in Koutiala and formally requests that Monique be paid directly.

Monique tells Holloway that Francois is spending her hard-earned wages on gifts for his girlfriend while her children go hungry.

Monique shows Holloway a masculine ring bearing Pascal's initials on her finger, declaring she will never take it off.

Holloway and Monique confide in each other that rape was the first sexual experience each of them endured.

The dugutigi informs the village that a coup d'état has overthrown President Moussa Traore in Bamako.

Monique announces she has brokered a deal with World Vision to supply free birth control pills in exchange for a health workshop.

On Holloway and John's final night in Nampossela, Monique joins the villagers in dancing for the first time.

Holloway returns to Mali, learns from Yvonne that medical negligence caused Monique's death, and secures the children's education in Koutiala.

From the earliest days of their friendship, Monique confides in Holloway about the trouble in her marriage, opening a trust between the two women that deepens with every revelation. Holloway drives change through persistent advocacy — securing permission for the birthing house repairs, negotiating for Monique's salary, and uncovering Monique's hidden love for Pascal through a series of mysterious letters. The women share painful personal disclosures, including violence they have both endured, and take bold action by planning to distribute hidden birth control to village women. A military coup transforms the country and grief reshapes Monique, but not before she brokers a landmark deal with World Vision that delivers free birth control pills to the women of Nampossela. In the book's final chapters, a grief-stricken Holloway returns to Mali, learns the truth of her friend's death through cruel medical negligence, and fights for the one victory Monique never lived to see — her children's education.