Alas, she’ll have to stay in Tetouan, live in a boarding house, and work to pay back the money owed to the hotel and her scammed business partners.Īll of this sets the stage for Sira to slowly rise up and eventually become a successful dressmaker and homeowner. She can’t return to Spain, as the borders have closed since she arrived in Morocco, thanks to the Spanish Civil War that started in July. This is the first step to Sira’s transformation.ĭisoriented, she ends up at a hospital, no longer pregnant, but facing criminal prosecution if she doesn’t pay off her debts. Upon returning to the hotel, she finds that Ramiro has up and left, taking all her money and leaving her with tons of debt and a broken heart. She never gets to share her happy news, though. But after a few months of living in a hotel, Sira discovers she’s pregnant. In 1936, she and Ramiro run off to Morocco with grand illusions of where their business will take them. When Sira suddenly gets an inheritance from her wealthy but uninvolved father, she makes the mistake of telling Ramiro, who wants to invest it in a typewriter business. Ramiro seems charming, but he’s a sketchy man. However, Sira makes some questionable choices, leaving Ignacio for another man ten years her senior. When Sira becomes engaged to Ignacio, a man planning to work in the government, it looks like Sira has a chance at upward mobility and a stable life. She’s a seamstress, but she and her single mother are poor. It begins in 1931 in Madrid, when Sira is just 20 years old. The novel spans a decade as Sira Quiroga grows up – not only into a self-sufficient woman, but also into an unexpected hero of World War II. Originally published in Spanish in 2009, The Time In Between has since become an international bestseller, and for good reason. We’re only three months into the year, but I’m already certain that The Time In Between by María Dueñas will be among my favorites of 2017.

María dueñas the time in between