Amir and Soraya went through the rituals their Afghan heritage required of betrothed couples and were married. The process was speeded up because Baba's health had deteriorated and all involved knew he had little time left to live.

After the wedding, Soraya insisted she move in with Baba and Amir, so she could take care of Baba. One day, Amir returned from the pharmacy to find that Soraya had been reading his stories to Baba. Baba had asked her to read them to him, this meant the world to Amir, because he thought his father did not appreciate his writing talent.

A month after their wedding Baba died in his sleep. The funeral, held at a mosque in Hayward, California, was so well attended that people had to drive three to four blocks to find parking spaces. It is during the services that Amir came to truly appreciate the man his father was, as person after person told him stories of Baba's benevolence. These acts trickled down to Amir and defined the man he became, this realization marked a turning point in how he viewed his father. The thought of living without his father's guidance, struck terror in Amir.

After burying his father, Amir and Soraya moved into their own apartment. Amir also began to learn the intricacies of Soraya's family. Her father would once a month, for a week, be bedridden with migraine headaches, Soraya's mother was known for her beautiful singing voice, and the story of Soraya's disgrace.

She had moved in with an Afghan man when she was young. Her father came to take her home, he was determined to have her return home or he was going to kill himself. Once home the gossip started and never stopped. She was considered a fallen woman, who even after marrying Amir, was still gossiped about.

Amir, the summer after Baba died, was accepted to San Jose State to study English. He took a part-time job as a security guard, so he could study on the job. He also began to write his first novel on a typewriter given to him by General Taheri. Soraya also enrolled in San Jose State to become a teacher, a profession her father did not approve of, because he wanted her to become a lawyer. He, who lived off welfare, because he felt any job would be beneath him, determined teaching was not a worthy profession. She studied teaching anyway.

In 1989, Amir's book was published and he and Soraya decided to try to start a family. Soraya was unable to become pregnant, even through artificial insemination, so her doctor suggested they could adopt. Soraya was not sure she wanted to adopt and her father was vehemently opposed to the idea. He said with an adopted baby, you could not be sure of who their ancestors were. Knowing who a person's ancestors are is important in Afghan society.

To get away from the pressures of her parents Amir and Soraya bought a house an hour away. They used the advance money from Amir's second book to purchase the house. Soraya's inability to conceive a child began to put a strain on their marriage.

Soraya and Amir have been married for fifteen years in 2001 and Soraya has been a teacher for six years. He has just received the phone call from Rahim Khan telling him he is sick. Rahim wants to see Amir, which meant Amir must fly to Pakistan to see him, possibly for the last time. The last words Rahim spoke to him before he hung up the phone were, "Come, There is a way to be good again."

These words let Amir know Rahim knew all along about what happened to Hassan, Amir's part in it, and how he framed Hassan for theft. Soraya was understanding of Amir's need to go to his friend. It would also allow her parents to come and stay with her. The General after breaking his hip, has had health problems.

A week after the phone call Amir was on his way to Pakistan. After landing in Peshawar, Amir took a cab to Rahim's apartment. The man who greeted him is emaciated and ill, it is Rahim Khan.

Amir told him about his life in America, his marriage, his four published novels, and about his father. Rahim told Amir about his life in Kabul after Amir and Baba left the city.

The Soviets made life for the city's inhabitants intolerable, by making it dangerous to travel in their own neighborhoods, not to mention the danger of traversing outside your neighborhood. Most people stayed in their homes hoping not to have them blown up by rockets. Then the Taliban moved in and the Soviets left. Rahim danced in the streets with his neighbors, because they thought peace had returned to Afghanistan. They were wrong, the Taliban brought their own form of violence.

Rahim was given Baba's house to live in and watch over after Amir and his father left, because Baba thought they would be gone only for a short while. During this time Hassan came back and lived with Rahim. This news stunned Amir, then Rahim told him that he would probably not live to see the end of the summer. He wanted Amir to do him a favor, but first he must listen to what he has to say about Hassan. He wanted to tell Amir every detail about Hassan and his life. Amir agreed to listen to what the dying man had to tell him.

Amir has had the joy of marrying the woman he loves, endured the pain of losing his father to cancer, and the disappointment of not having children. He is also thrown back to his past, after receiving a request by Rahim Khan to visit him in Pakistan, which makes him remember Hassan and the sins of his past.