Laila Timeline & Summary

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• Laila is a young girl who lives in Kabul with her parents. She spends most of her time with her best friend and love interest Tariq.
• After the war in Kabul worsens, Tariq's family decides to leave for Pakistan. Laila and Tariq make love the night before he leaves.
• Laila's family decides to leave soon after, but her parents are killed by a stray rocket before they can escape.
• Laila is saved by Rasheed. He makes her his second wife after Laila is told by a man named Abdul Sharif that Tariq is dead. Laila tricks Rasheed into thinking that she is pregnant with his child, when in fact she's pregnant with Tariq's baby.
• With time, Laila befriends Mariam, and the two of them try to escape to Pakistan with Laila's new daughter Aziza. They're caught by the police as they're boarding a bus and sent back to Rasheed.
• Laila eventually gives birth to a boy named Zalmai, who is most definitely Rasheed's son.
• Rasheed's shop burns down, throwing the family into poverty. He forces Laila to send Aziza to an orphanage to help save money.
• Laila visits Aziza frequently. After returning home from one of these visits, Laila is shocked to find Tariq standing at her doorstep.
• Laila learns that Rasheed had hired Abdul Sharif to convince her that Tariq had died. She tells Tariq about Aziza, and he promises to come back for her the following day.
• Rasheed finds out about Tariq's visit that night. He tries to kill Laila, but Mariam hits him in the head with a shovel, and he dies.
• Laila, Aziza, Zalmai, and Tariq go to Pakistan, where Tariq has a home and a job. They live in relative comfort, but Laila decides to return to Kabul after the U.S. invades Afghanistan. They stop in Gul Daman, Mariam's hometown, before returning to Kabul.
• There, Laila visits Mariam's childhood home and is given a box that was meant for Mariam by a man named Hamza.
• Inside, Laila finds a few sentimental items, as well as Mariam's portion of her father's inheritance. She uses that money to fund the orphanage in Kabul, and she and Tariq help renovate the facilities.
• At the close of the novel, Laila reveals that she is pregnant.