Seft, now head of the cleverhands after Dallo’s death, works with Tem to repair the eroded banks of the East River so livestock can drink without destroying the remaining watercourse. The work reflects Seft’s status and the cooperative spirit of the herders, though the drought threatens that unity. During the repairs, Seft learns that his estranged brother Olf has been looking for him, an unwelcome reminder of his past.

Returning home, Seft finds Olf and Cam waiting. They are gaunt, ragged, and clearly starving. They reveal that their father Cog died about a year earlier while working in a flint pit. After Cog’s death, they exhausted their flint seam and failed repeatedly to find another, leaving them destitute and rejected by other miners. They now seek Seft’s help. Seft reacts with anger and grief, torn between resentment over his abusive childhood and a lingering sense of family obligation. Neen strongly opposes helping them, but Seft decides to consider the matter overnight.

The next day, Seft leads Olf and Cam north and teaches them how to identify promising flint seams by reading the landscape, explaining the importance of steep hills, streambeds, springlines, and loose flints. When they finally find an unworked site, Seft shows them where to begin digging, then leaves them to survive on their own. He offers knowledge but no ongoing support, choosing loyalty to his own family and community over reconciliation.

After parting from his brothers, Seft secretly travels to Stony Valley, revisiting the long-abandoned idea of rebuilding the Monument in stone. Remembering Dallo’s earlier objections, Seft reconsiders the challenge with fresh determination. He begins surveying the land, searching for a viable route to transport massive stones across valleys and hills while staying near water and avoiding swamps and forests. Though the terrain is difficult, he gradually identifies a workable path, including a long stretch alongside the East River that could be widened if necessary.

By the time Seft returns to Riverbend, he believes the transport problem can be solved with enough labor and planning. Convinced that rebuilding the Monument could restore unity and purpose to the herder community during crisis, he asks Neen to invite Joia to supper. Seft is ready to share his findings and begin turning a seemingly impossible vision into a practical plan.

Pia spends her days hauling water from South River to irrigate her family’s “parched fields” (155), a task undertaken by nearly everyone among the farmers as rain fails and crops risk dying before sprouting. Her father, Alno, is already gravely weakened by illness and smoke inhalation from earlier fires. When he collapses by the river, Pia and her mother Yana carry him home, but despite their care he dies during the night. 

Yana and Pia perform the customary funeral rites, cremating Alno beside the river beneath an oak tree. Many women attend, revealing how well- regarded Alno and Yana were in the community. The very next day, Troon’s enforcer, Shen, appears, pressing Yana to return to work “without fail” (159). Soon afterward, Troon himself arrives and announces that Yana must take a new man without delay. Under farmer law, a woman cannot own land, and Troon claims emergency authority due to the drought. Instead of the customary year to choose a partner, Yana is given seven days or Troon will decide for her.

Yana reluctantly seeks a suitable man and finally proposes to Bort, an unremarkable widower. He refuses, preferring stability over advancement. When Yana reports this to Troon, he unveils his plan: Yana will be forced to partner with his son, Stam, a violent, immature boy not yet 14. Despite protests that Stam is “a child” (168), Troon insists and threatens violent retaliation if Yana runs away. 

Yana and Pia organize resistance by speaking to women and enlisting Duff to persuade sympathetic men. A large crowd gathers outside Yana’s house when Troon arrives with Stam, but fear prevents open defiance. As Stam attempts to claim Yana, she asserts control in a chilling way, warning him that if he ever strikes her, she will blind him in his sleep. The threat terrifies Stam and silences the crowd as Yana and Stam enter Yana’s house.

Bez, a woodlander, walks through West Wood with Lali, a young woman he is fond of and who is “probably his daughter” (175). He teaches her practical skills, including how to harvest honey from a bees’ nest using smoke for protection. The honey provides a rare and valuable food source at a time when the woodlanders are hungry and game is scarce. The successful raid briefly lifts spirits and is shared communally in the village.

A few days later, hardship returns when a puppy is found killed near the village. Bez investigates and identifies signs of a bear in the area, including large droppings, stripped bark, and paw prints near the pond that supplies the woodlanders with water. The bear is undernourished and desperate, likely driven into the wood by drought elsewhere. Recognizing both the danger and the opportunity, Bez and Gida gather the community to plan a hunt. A bear could “feed the village for a week” (181), but it could also kill someone if mishandled.

The following morning, the entire community participates in the hunt. Woodlander society has no formal leaders, but Bez, Gida, Fell, and other experienced hunters naturally guide the effort. Hunters, children, and dogs form a wide line through the forest, slowly driving the bear toward a trap. They eventually corner the animal in dense beech trees. The bear fights fiercely, killing several dogs and resisting arrows that barely penetrate its thick hide. As it weakens from blood loss, the bear attempts to escape, charging through the hunters. The pursuit continues until Fell’s large dog manages to seize the bear by the throat, killing it but dying in the process.

The village butchers the bear and shares the meat, though it is clear the animal was thin and will provide no lasting relief. The next morning, Bez calls a gathering and raises a new concern: Survival may depend on the annual deer migration, which has become unpredictable due to the drought. Bez explains that the priestesses at the Monument may be able to predict seasonal movements. Since he and his brother Fell speak some of the herder language, Bez volunteers to travel to consult them.

Weakened by age and poor nutrition, Soo, the High Priestess, can no longer eat solid food. She is evidently dying, so she gathers the priestesses and announces that her time is ending. She urges them to choose her successor by “consensus” (188) and publicly recommends Ello, the Second High Priestess. Joia is dismayed, recognizing Ello’s cruelty and abuse of power, and quietly realizes that she herself is the only serious alternative. 

Joia turns to Seft to revive their shared plan to rebuild the Monument in stone. They agree that the project could unite the people during crisis and secure Joia’s leadership if the priestesses are convinced it is feasible. Seft explains his surveyed route from Stony Valley and Joia outlines how large numbers of volunteers could be recruited during the Midsummer Rite. Their plan depends on inspiration, ritual authority, and collective labor over many years.

Meanwhile, Joia continues her duties, teaching the novice Duna about eclipses and the Monument’s lunar calculations. Duna confides that Ello has been coercing her into sex. Joia intervenes decisively, asserting that novices may refuse and resolving to block Ello’s behavior regardless of who becomes High Priestess. Privately, Joia acknowledges that she has not yet “met the one” (195) person with whom she may fall in love. 

Bez and Fell arrive at the Monument seeking help for their starving woodlander tribe. Ello refuses to advise them, but—after meeting with Han—Joia receives them warmly and uses her knowledge of ritual song and calendrical memory to predict the deer migration. Bez and Fell watch in “exasperated ignorance” (203). She translates the timing into a practical count using Bez’s fingers, enabling him to understand that the hunt should begin seven days later. That night, Soo dies, and the priestesses cremate her at dawn.

After the funeral, Joia and Seft present their stone Monument proposal to the priestesses. Ello dismantles it by calculating the immense time required to transport enough stones, proving the project impractical. Joia’s bid for leadership collapses, and Ello’s succession becomes inevitable. Joia confronts Ello privately, forcing her to promise to stop exploiting novices and warning that she will expose her if she does not. Ello laments that she is an “ugly old woman” (209) whom no one can love. 

Bez’s tribe successfully ambushes migrating roe deer exactly when Joia predicted. The hunt saves the woodlanders from starvation. Bez credits Joia’s knowledge and Han’s generosity, recognizing that cross-community cooperation has ensured survival. They claim Han as one of their own, as he “acted like a tribesman” (213).

Pia navigates life under Troon’s tightening rule. Living with her mother Yana and Stam proves intolerable. Although Stam works hard and contributes to the household by carrying water, hunting birds, and protecting crops, his presence is oppressive. He is greedy with food, physically repellent, and sexually aggressive. Pia is deeply disturbed by hearing him have sex with Yana each night and fears he may eventually force himself on her. She dreams that she may “leave Farmplace” (215) to live with Han and hopes that the upcoming Midsummer Rite will give her the chance to see him. 

Her hope is shaken when Mo arrives in distress. Troon has ordered Mo to partner with Deg, extending his authority beyond widows and openly rewriting farmer law. Mo asks Yana what it is like to live with a man she does not love and Yana admits brutally that she hates her life and feels trapped. Horrified by the prospect of a similar fate, Mo decides to flee. Pia devises a plan to mislead Troon by stealing the communal boat and sending it drifting downstream, creating “a false trail” (217). Despite fear, Pia carries out the plan successfully, allowing Mo to escape into the woods.

The ruse initially works, but Troon eventually captures Mo in a brutal manner. Mo is paraded publicly with a rope around her neck and visible injuries, serving as a warning to other women. Troon then decrees that no farmer women may attend the Rites or leave farmland territory. Pia realizes this ban means permanent separation from Han. She is filled with despair and fear that if she tries to escape, she will suffer Mo’s fate. 

While foraging in the woods, Pia meets a herder named Zad and asks him to carry a message to Han, telling him she loves him. Han receives the message at the Midsummer Rite and, unable to bear the separation, arranges to be assigned to herd cattle near Farmplace. Soon after, Pia unexpectedly encounters Han on the plain. They reunite joyfully and arrange secret nightly meetings in the woods. 

That night, Pia sneaks out after Stam falls asleep and meets Han in a hidden clearing. Their sexual encounter is awkward, tender, and emotionally charged, marking the beginning of a dangerous but deeply desired secret relationship that offers Pia hope amid oppression.