PART 1

Valeria Hernández stepped onto the plane with two suitcases, a folded stroller, and a heart that felt as if it had been shattered beyond repair.

At thirty-one, she had never pictured herself leaving Guadalajara this way: with her baby daughter Sofia sleeping against her chest, no home waiting for her, only a small amount of savings, and still carrying the last name of a marriage that had fallen apart piece by piece.