Growing up in Saudi Arabia as a woman, Layla struggled to develop her own womanhood in a place where her desires must be concealed and regulated. Marriage is essential, and yet her own feelings must be tempered for a successful union that would please her family. Torn between love and disobedience, Layla's youth is filled with the heart-aching trials and tribulations of dating, and her discovery of her own place in society. Now a wife and mother, Layla must balance that struggle in a society everchanging, and opening up to world less burdened by stifling norms. In the Wake of Change is a complex character study of Layla, whose reminiscence of the stolen freedoms of her youth, illuminate the significance of the freedoms of the present.