Amabelle Desir, a Haitian trained as a midwife, is called into action as Senora Valencia is induced into labor, two months premature. Amabelle works for Valencia, the daughter of Don Ignacio, whose estate they all live on, in the city of Alegria in the Dominican Republic. Valencia cries for the help of the Virgin Mary, eventually giving birth to a son, similar in complexion to the Dominican Valencia, before unexpectedly giving birth to a daughter, whose dark skin prompts Valencia to remark to Amabelle, “what if she’s mistaken for one of your people?”
Doctor Javier, the local medical practitioner, arrives to examine the newly-born twins, saying that the girl, named Rosalinda, is extremely small in stature and he worries about her health, while the boy appears healthy. Señor Pico, a high-ranking military official and husband of Valencia arrives at his home in a rush, immediately naming his son Rafael, in honor of Dominican leader Rafael Trujillo.
Another worker, Luis, recounts the journey he and Don Ignacio took back to the estate after picking up Señor Pico, as Amabelle and his wife, Juana, listen on in shock. According to Luis, Pico drove inordinately fast, striking a man walking along the road, sending falling down a steep cliff to an inevitable death. Amabelle reacts strongly to the news, fearing the worst for her boyfriend, Sebastien. A fellow Haitian, Sebastien emigrated to the Dominican Republic following the Great Hurricane of 1930 that killed the majority of his family. Sebastien returns, with the news that he was walking to the mill he works at, with two fellow workers named Yves and Joel, when Joel was struck by an automobile and fell to his death.
Amabelle then has a flashback to the traumatic death of her parents. After a day at the markets, Amabelle and her parents buy new pots before attempting to cross a river on their way home. The rushing current sweeps her parents away, leaving Amabelle standing on the shore with the pots in her hands. As she throws the pots into the river and moves to throw herself in too, she is stopped by several locals from committing suicide.
Back in the present, Sebastien has returned from a trip to visit Kongo, a respected elder in a nearby village, and the father of now-dead Joel. Mimi, Sebastien’s younger sister, reveals that most the community is aware that it was Pico that struck and killed Joel. Other members of the community recount rumors about Haitians being deported if they do not have proper identification. Don Ignacio asks Amabelle to set up a meeting between he and Kongo, to try and sort out Joel’s death. Later, Senora Valencia is set into a panic as her infant son, Rafael dies in his sleep. Father Vargas, a nearby priest comes to offer a final blessing. Pico buries his son by himself in grief, and Amabelle heads to speak to Kongo, who receives her, and refuses all varieties of compensation from Don Ignacio, including an offer to pay for Joel’s funeral.
Talk spreads around the community of the Dominican army killing all those who pronounce the word ‘perejil’, Spanish for parsley, in the Creole or Haitian way, instead of the Spanish or Dominican way. Doctor Javier arrives at the house in a rush, confirming these rumors. Under the guise of a mass, Javier and Father Vargas organize a pair of trucks to safely take Haitians across the border. Sebastien and Mimi go on these trucks, while Amabelle hangs back for a short period to care for the ill Senora Valencia.
Upon arriving at the church at a later point, Amabelle finds it deserted. She heads off to the nearby village, where she finds Kongo, who reveals that Dominican soldiers intercepted the trucks and took all the Haitians prisoner. Yves and Amabelle set off for the Haitian border together. Along their way, they find Odette and Wilner, a pair also fleeing for the border. Another member of their traveling pack is Tibon, who recounts a harrowing survival story where he had to jump off a cliff and escape a pack of villagers wielding machetes.
The group reaches the town of Dajabon, coinciding with a visit from Trujillo to the town. A pack of Dominican youth spot the group and attack them. Tibon fights back and is killed by a machete, whilst Amabelle and Yves are beaten and have parsley forced down their throats so they cannot breathe. Bruised and hardly able to see, Amabelle and Yves come to as Odette and Wilner usher them to relative safety at a house in the city.
After somewhat recovering, the group of four sets off to cross the river, but a group of soldiers await. Wilner is struck and killed, and as Odette struggles to stay afloat in the river, Amabelle forces her below the surface to keep Odette from giving away their position. Safely across the border, Yves takes Amabelle to a camp for wounded Haitians as she is nursed back to health. After Amabelle recovers, Yves takes her to visit his mother, a large woman named Man Rapadou. The two quickly fall into a routine, where Yves works in his father’s fields and Amabelle assists Man Rapadou around the house. One day, Amabelle seeks out Sebastien and Mimi’s mother, and finally comes to realize that she will never see Sebastien ever again.
As the years drag on, Amabelle remains on Yves’ estate, which he builds into large proportions. Amabelle desires to see her old home in Alegria once again, to search for her beloved Senora Valencia. She is met by a much older Rosalinda, who summons her mother, who is at first very skeptical, believing that Amabelle was killed much earlier. After Amabelle proves herself, the two share in sadness over the many lost years. Amabelle returns to Haiti, her life still permeated by the loss of her beloved Sebastien, of which she will never be the same again.
