In January 1871, during a rainy spell, Dove crosses the muddy Calle de los Negros to get to her husband’s shop, which is a challenge because of her bound feet and the necessity for her to look perfect. She secretly collects coins dropped by customers. 

Tensions are rising between the Nin Yung Tong, led by Headman Sam, and the Hong Chow Tong, led by Headman Yo, after Sam raised rents on Hong Chow affiliates. The conflict erupts into a public brawl between the two tongs. Dove watches from the shop, where she’s maintaining a punitive silence toward Old Man Sing, who slapped her the previous night, citing jealousy.

In 1926, Moon recalls the Chinese New Year party on February 19, 1871, hosted by Old Man Sing. A rare social occasion where wives were invited, Moon attended with Gene and Winter Melon. Headman Sam arrived with four women from his brothel: Orchid, Lily, Peony, and Petal. Dove welcomed Petal to sit with her—breaking Chinese social taboos between wives and non-wives—and slipped something to her. Ah Mouie, a laundryman’s wife, also encouraged all the women to socialize together. Headman Yo and his wife, Silver Shimmer, arrived uninvited. To avert a conflict, Moon befriended Silver Shimmer. The women playfully compared Moon, Dove, Petal, and Silver Shimmer to the Four Great Beauties of Chinese lore. Their husbands joined in with poetic praise, diffusing the tension. After hearing his words, Moon felt that she understood better why Gene loved her.

In early March 1871, Petal tends to Lily, who’s dying of tuberculosis, at the Midnight Garden. Petal saves tips to pay for her brother Ah Loo’s passage from China. She has also been secretly growing medicinal herbs for Gene on her windowsill. After a successful exchange of a radish for more seeds, she’s confronted by Auntie Fong. Expecting punishment, Petal is surprised when Auntie Fong offers to help Petal cultivate the plants in a sunnier location in exchange for a share of the profits, as she also hopes to buy her own freedom.

On March 7, 1871, Dove is abducted by Three-Finger Lee. He takes her to a justice of the peace and, using a marriage license and an interpreter who deliberately mistranslates, forces her to marry him. Old Man Sing files legal complaints, and Headman Sam offers a bounty of $100 to any policeman who finds Dove. The police soon locate her, and she’s rescued. Before another magistrate, Moon translates for Dove as she identifies Sing as her husband and personally vouches for the marriage, influencing the judge to return Dove to him. A courtroom brawl follows, and Headman Yo’s men kidnap Dove a second time, before the police rescue her again. Fearing for their safety, Sing and Dove accept Moon and Gene’s offer to stay in their apartment.

In 1926, Moon recalls her conversation with Dove following the abduction. Dove confirmed that she wasn’t raped but was furious that her husband seemed more concerned with his reputation than with her suffering. In the middle of the night, the police arrived with a writ of habeas corpus obtained by Three-Finger Lee and took Dove to District Judge Morrison’s courtroom. Moon and Gene, arriving on foot, were blocked at the door by armed policemen on Headman Yo’s payroll. Old Man Sing, searching for his lawyer, was also absent when the judge, after being shown the American marriage certificate, awarded custody of Dove to Lee.

From March 8 to April 11, 1871, Dove is held captive in a well-appointed room in a house near Poundcake Hill. Headman Yo’s wife, Silver Shimmer, explains the situation: Because the couple have no children, Dove will be raped by Yo to bear a son. If she succeeds, she can return home in 40 weeks. Yo had first tried to acquire Petal for this purpose. That night, Yo rapes Dove. Afterward, Dove realizes that she’s already pregnant with Old Man Sing’s child, a development that terrifies her and complicates her imprisonment.

Petal comforts Lily on her deathbed. Lily asks Petal to send her savings home and ensure that she’s buried with her pouch of home-village soil. A few hours after Petal returns to her room, Headman Sam’s men drag Lily’s still-living body away. When undressing at night, Petal discovers that she has signs of syphilis. 

The next morning, the household is thrown into chaos upon discovering that Orchid has run away. Gene arrives and uses the situation to propose a deal to the furious Headman Sam. Citing the death of Lily, the escape of Orchid (whom he reveals is pregnant), and Peony’s visible illness, he offers to provide medical care for all the women. In exchange, he asks that Petal be allowed to grow medicinal herbs for him on a nearby plot of land he has rented. To guarantee that Petal will not escape, Gene shows a letter from her family. It reports that Petal’s sister has died, that her mother is dying, and that her brother is coming to Los Angeles. Convinced that Petal will wait for her brother, Sam agrees. Petal is left to process the news.

Four weeks into her captivity, Silver Shimmer confirms that Dove is pregnant. Believing the child to be Headman Yo’s, she improves Dove’s conditions until, 11 weeks into captivity and roughly 17 weeks pregnant, Dove suffers a miscarriage. Dove’s guard, Three-Finger Lee, tends to her with unexpected gentleness. He reveals that his own wife died after miscarrying, creating a moment of connection. The loss plunges Dove into despair, as she realizes that Yo will try to impregnate her again. Observing Lee’s growing affection for her, Dove considers whether she can use it to her advantage. 

Over the following months, Dove retreats into the fantasy world of the elaborate embroidery scenes she sees on her wall. She asks Three-Finger Lee for embroidery supplies, convincing him to visit her friend Petal at the Midnight Garden brothel to get thread. Lee agrees and heads to the brothel.