What the River Knows

In Ibañez’s novel, trust is a delicate and dangerous balance. The characters create many problems for themselves by refusing to confide in others, but the overly trusting invite peril as well. Inez’s father inadvertently sets the plot into motion when he withholds his trust from Ricardo. The rift between the two men occurs in the fallout of Lourdes’s affair. As Ricardo explains to Inez, “I campaigned hard for Cayo to forgive your mother for the affair […] to the point where he became paranoid, believing I was involved with her schemes” (387). Cayo’s error in judgment leaves him vulnerable to Lourdes’s treachery and leads to his disappearance. Inez would also have benefited from more forthright communication from her father. Because he doesn’t send a note with the ring, Inez doesn’t know the object’s importance or take adequate precautions to protect it: “Papá hadn’t told me anything about where it came from. There hadn’t even been a note with the package. That was the only reason I didn’t cover my ring finger” (33). Due to the withholding of trust and vital information, the stolen ring may guide the villainous Basil Sterling right to Philae so he can desecrate Cleopatra’s mummy.