Celia´s mother died bringing her into the world - when one soul flies in, another flies out, her aunt Tassi says. So she lives in Black Rock, Tobago, with her cousins and Tassi´s second husband Roman, a man so sly he could crawl under a snake´s belly on stilts. Celia thinks he´s the devil, so when he does something that proves her right, she runs away to Trinidad and a new life in service.

Celia's mother died bringing her into the world, so she lives with her aunt and her new husband. Celia doesn't trust him, and when she's proved right, she runs away to Trinidad.