Camp Seven is indescribably filthy. The soldiers yank Shawna roughly down from the truck, and when her husband pushes them in retaliation, a soldier calmly shoots him in the stomach. He stumbles backward, runs his hands along a camp wall full of beadwork and imprints from all around Sub-Saharan Africa, and falls down dead. Shawna must swallow her shock and anguish to shepherd her stepdaughter Lizzie away from the sight.

The rampant illness, scant food and putrid smell all around takes a toll on Lizzie's health immediately. Shawna begs those around her to help, desperately trying to communicate that she doesn't belong here; she is American and was permitted in the country by President Chimbey - a truth which gains her no favor in the new order. When she finally finds someone to lead her to the commandant and translate her pleas and promise for help from well-connected friends, she realizes he purposefully left out the crucial parts of her message. No one wants to help without personal benefit. A man Lizzie dubs the Jester leads them to the King, a wealthy trader who can't escape but can offer her food and medicine in exchange for sex. She refuses.

Lizzie is close to death. Helpless, Shawna prays at her bedside, and spends a night constructing a statue by the wall of prisoners' art depicting her in her anguish. The artwork gains her the sympathy of those around her, but nothing else. Then the Jester tells her that there is a way out; one of the sculptures in the wall opens a passage to the other side. He convinces her to leave without Lizzie and come back with her friends to help all three of them escape, promising to look after Lizzie while she's gone. But halfway through the tunnel Shawna turns back, realizing what motherhood means. She offers herself to the King in exchange for food and medicine for Lizzie. She can finally answer Lizzie's persistent question, "Are you my mommy?" with "I am now."