Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad

Dirie is relieved that Marilyn forgives her for the passport theft. When Dirie’s modeling work dries up, she moves in with Marilyn and her mother and then with another friend, Frankie. One of Dirie’s shots is featured on the front cover of the Sunday Times.

Dirie needs to travel to pursue more modeling opportunities. Her agency recommends an attorney, Harold Wheeler, who can help immigrants with passports. For $2,000, Wheeler organizes a marriage between Dirie and an Irish man, Mr. O’Sullivan; Mr. O’Sullivan is much older than Dirie and drunk at their registry office wedding.

The passport that Wheeler gives to Dirie looks poorly made and inauthentic. When Dirie applies for travel visas, she is called into the immigration office, where the agents insist on meeting with Mr. O’Sullivan. Dirie goes to Mr. O’Sullivan’s house and convinces him to accompany her to a meeting the next day. However, his angry sons threaten and intimidate her when she returns the next morning and force her to leave. Dirie returns another day and comes across Mr. O’Sullivan, who agrees to come with her to the meeting in exchange for Dirie buying him drinks at the pub. The immigration agent, clearly suspicious, insists on the truth, and Dirie tells them about Wheeler.