As Ethan flies his plane, he plays “Leave All Your Troubles Behind” by Jimmy Buffett. Although they packed for two weeks, he plans to stay until Francis is found.

Harriett Alshon sits on the shore of Lake Morikawa outside the Winchester cottage. She had written her first letter to Francis two years before, and he responded. From there, Francis devised the plan to have Harriett take Eugenia’s identity. She was careful never to visit Francis as herself or to connect herself to him in any way, instead becoming Eugenia.

Harriett takes Eugenia’s driver’s license out, which she used to rent the storage facility, purchase the gun, visit Francis, and more. She lights it on fire, then drops it to the ground. She then looks out over the lake, waiting for Ethan to arrive.

When Ethan lands the plane, Kai helps them unload. He warns Ethan that a strong storm is coming that night.

Ethan and Maddie tell Kai the entire story, starting with Francis’s arrest. Kai assures them that they will be safe staying on the lake.

As Ethan walks out with Kai, strong winds mark the start of the storm. He tells Kai that he is going to get some food and water. Kai promises to watch over the cottage while he is gone.

After Ethan leaves, Maddie locks the door. She gets her gun from her bag and sets it on the table, then sits down to watch the news.

As Ethan starts the drive into town, the weather worsens. He considers turning back but is adamant that he needs food. To his surprise, another vehicle passes him, heading toward the lake.

As Maddie watches the news, the power goes out. She puts her gun into her waistband and then goes onto the back porch, where there is a crawl space that holds the generator. As lightning flashes, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She pulls out her gun, but because of the rain, drops it as she screams.

Ethan arrives at the store. He quickly goes through the aisles, grabbing what he needs.

Maddie turns and finds Kai standing there. He apologizes for startling her. He came back to see if she was okay when the power went out. She picks up her gun, and Kai helps her start the generator. He offers to stay, but Maddie insists that he should go home to his family.

Maddie goes back inside. As she heads upstairs to change her clothes, a car pulls into the driveway.

Before Ethan leaves, he asks Uma, the store owner, if she needs anything. She asks for help refueling her generator.

As Maddie changes her clothes, she hears pounding on the front door. She waits, then hears it again. She realizes that she left her gun on the counter.

Maddie goes downstairs and looks out the window. She sees a woman standing there. When Maddie opens the door, the woman explains that she is at her uncle’s cabin, but the power went out. She isn’t sure if there’s a generator. Maddie invites her inside. The woman introduces herself as Harriett.

As Ethan slowly makes his way back to the cabin, avoiding the trees in the road and trying to see through the rain, he spots Kai’s truck by the road. He pulls over and checks the cab, but it is empty. As he heads back to his car, he sees Kai lying in the road. There is blood in his mouth. Ethan struggles to find his wound. However, Kai grabs him and tells him that Maddie is in danger. Ethan hears a gunshot in the distance.

Maddie offers Harriett a change of clothes. She retrieves shorts and a T-shirt and shows her to the bathroom. When Harriett emerges, Maddie sees the snake tattoo on her leg, recognizing it from the images Pete showed her of the transport van. She looks at the counter and sees that her gun is gone.

Maddie tries to run out the door, but Harriett grabs her hair. Harriett starts to choke Maddie, but Maddie slams her backward into the wall. Harriett screams as one of the hooks holding the fishing spear pierces her skin.

Maddie stumbles to the back door. However, when she looks out the window, Francis is standing there, holding Maddie’s gun.

Maddie runs out the front door. However, she feels a bullet hit her side as she hears the gun go off. She stumbles through the grass and is pulled up by Francis. He rips open her shirt, revealing the scar from the black heart tattoo. He expresses his annoyance that she managed to get it removed. In response, Maddie smashes her face into his nose, feeling it break. She stumbles away but is grabbed again.

Francis drags Maddie into the house as she struggles to maintain consciousness. He promises to redo her black heart as he ties her to a chair.

When Ethan gets back to the cabin, he realizes that his gun is in his bag. He rushes through the back door and sees Francis choking Maddie in the chair. He crashes into Francis, sending them both to the ground. He punches him several times and begins to choke him. However, he is hit on the head and falls to the ground. He looks up at Harriett, who shoots him in the shoulder. As she takes aim again, Ethan sees the tip of the fishing spear burst through her chest.

To Ethan’s surprise, Harriett pulls the fishing spear forward by its head. She pulls the handle through her body, then drops the spear to the ground. As she does so, the blood flows profusely from the wound. She goes pale and then collapses to the ground.

Maddie sits back in the chair. Ethan checks his own wound and is grateful that there is an exit hole. The same is true of Maddie’s gunshot wound. He starts to bandage both, then stops when Maddie says his name. He looks up and sees Francis stumbling out the front door.

Maddie urges Ethan to go after Francis. He follows him out into the rain to Heaven’s River. Ethan tackles Francis, and they both fall in. As they are pushed downstream, Ethan manages to grab a hold of Francis. Lightning strikes a tree upriver, and a large limb falls into the water. Ethan manages to dive under it, but it strikes Francis. The current pulls Ethan into Lake Morikawa. He looks back at the mouth of the river, waiting for Francis to emerge. However, he never does.

Ethan stumbles to the shore. He goes back to where the branch got stuck in the river. He searches all over but doesn’t find Francis.

Ethan takes Maddie and Kai to the hospital in Duluth. However, he knows that Kai is already dead. Maddie is rushed into surgery, and Ethan is treated in the emergency room.

The next day, Ethan goes through everything with the police. They confirm Harriett’s death and identify her body. They begin searching the river and the lake for Francis’s body, but all they find is his shirt.

Maddie stays at Ethan’s house while she begins to recover. There was no damage to her organs from the bullet. They are both uneasy, waiting for news about Francis’s body.

Ethan finds an envelope in his mailbox dated just two days before. He notes the postmark from Hachita, New Mexico. Inside is a storage box key and a letter from Francis. Francis gives Ethan the coordinates for Callie’s body. He then thanks him for all his visits, insisting that they were important to him. He assures him that Ethan’s father, Hank, was more than just a “victim.” He urges Ethan to check the storage unit if he wants to know why.

Despite Ethan’s protests, Maddie insists on going with him to the coordinates. Just below the surface of the water, they find a red barrel. Ethan manages to pull it from the water with his Jeep. When he pries off the lid, he finds Callie’s remains inside.

After calling the police and answering their questions about Callie’s body, Ethan and Maddie drive to the storage unit. He instructs Maddie to wait at the car with her gun.

Ethan unlocks the storage unit. He finds a light switch and turns it on. In the center of the room is a table with a box on it. Several photos surround the box. Ethan grabs a large one in front. Overwhelmed with shock, he collapses to the floor, pulling the box down with him. More photos fall to the ground along with audio and video tapes. In the photo is a picture of Maddie, tied to a chair, with Francis and his father standing next to her, smiling.

A year later, Ethan returns to Lake Morikawa. He listened to hours of audio and watched videos of his father with Francis. He struggled to sleep, constantly having nightmares of Francis and his father. Eventually, he quit the hospital. Now, he holds clinics for the Ojibwe people, fishes in the afternoon, and drinks at night. Although fishing helps him escape, he is still fixated on two items from the unit: an audio recording of his father’s final moments and another letter from Francis.

In the letter, Francis tells Ethan that his father was extremely unhappy with his life, most of all, his career. He only found joy in kidnapping girls with Francis. He admits that none of this will bring Ethan “peace” but closes by saying that “peace is something you earn. It is not free” (335).

In the audio recording, Francis and Henry argue about Maddie. Francis is insistent that they should continue to torment her, sending her recordings of her time in captivity to scare her. However, Henry argues that the police will stop at nothing to figure out who took her. He is afraid that it will eventually lead back to them. When he suggests stopping the kidnapping altogether, Francis shoots him.

When the recording stops, Ethan finishes his beer and starts it over again.

Ethan cooks fish on the grill as he has another beer. When he goes inside, he hears a plane landing on the water behind him. The plane docks at Ethan’s cottage. Governor Jones steps out.

Governor Jones tells Ethan that he has called several times. However, Ethan admits that he hasn’t looked at his phone in a long time. He then shows Ethan a copy of the newspaper; its headline announces the return of the Lake Michigan killer. As Ethan reads the article, Governor Jones explains that the body of a young woman was found with a black heart tattoo. He shows Ethan a photo of a note that was found in the body’s mouth. It reads, “I know you’ll come looking. Do better than your father, Ethan” (339).

Governor Jones wants Ethan to lead the investigation into finding Francis. Ethan thinks of the storage unit. He never told anyone about its contents. He considers that he could return to the ER and continue his job there, ignoring what he found and eventually moving past it. He tells Governor Jones that he is not interested, but the governor insists that Ethan is the best investigator they have.

As Ethan continues to hesitate, the door to his cottage opens. Maddie steps inside. She tells Ethan that she “needs” him to head the investigation.

Maddie tells Ethan that she does not care what was in the storage unit or why Ethan ended things with her and quit his job. All she cares about is finding Francis. She implores him to take the case.

As Ethan looks out at the lake, he wonders if and when he’ll ever be back. He thinks of all the women that will die if he doesn’t take the case—and the fact that women will still die even if he does. In the end, he agrees to take it.