In 1902, Rebecca Cohen is born to a prosperous Sephardic Jewish family. Her father, Alberto, owns a textile factory and has connections to prominent individuals in Constantinople. Their mother, Sultana, is involved in local charitable efforts. Rebecca is a happy, active child who loves to sing and draw. She speaks Ladino at home and French at the Catholic school she attends. These remain the two languages she’s most comfortable with throughout her life. She and her best friend, Lika, are so close and so similar that they are sometimes mistaken for twins. Rebecca draws attention from boys, including Lika’s cousin, Samuel. Although he makes a favorable first impression on her, she dismisses him from her mind after learning that his family is poor.

Alberto divorced his first wife, Djentil Nahon, before marrying Sultana. Her mental health declined after she discovered that she could not have children, and her neighbors now regard her with suspicion. Rebecca and Lika often visit Tiya Djentil to run errands and listen to her tell stories about spirits. She lovingly tends to her elderly mother, and Rebecca marvels that the woman can be “at once so lost inside her fantastical worlds and so capable and caring at the same time” (15).