Jelka explains to Ozzie that during the war, her mother married her off at 17 to Gottfried, who was six years older and managed laborers making Nazi steel helmets. Gottfried left for Berlin in October 1946 and never returned. She believed him dead until receiving a letter last week revealing he is a Soviet prisoner who will be released soon. Jelka fears Gottfried’s violent nature, saying he has beaten her for less and would harm Katja.

Jelka pleads with Ozzie to run away together. Ozzie recoils at the suggestion of going AWOL, thinking of his military ambitions, his duty, and his financial obligation to pay Rita’s tuition. While Jelka nurses Katja, Ozzie drinks vodka, feeling trapped. Looking at his sleeping daughter, Ozzie feels overwhelmed by love but cannot see how to do what Jelka asks.

In September 1951, Ethel Gathers spends her days caring for her four adopted children and nights developing her “Brown Baby Plan”: a one-woman adoption agency facilitating placements for biracial children. She writes how-to adoption articles and petitions German courts on behalf of 14 prospective adoptive families. With help from a law student translator, she achieves her first court victory.

At a “Negro Wives of Mannheim” meeting in a church basement, Ethel asks the women to help locate adoptive families. She admits that the adoption process is lengthy and bureaucratic. After the biological mother provides written consent and documents, the child temporarily enters an institution, with adoptive families paying $20 monthly until the German “quota list” clears. The most difficult obstacle is proving the child’s German nationality. An unmarried German mother must provide proof of her grandfather’s nationality before her child’s passport can be issued, a process that takes six weeks to six months. The women express dismay at the bureaucratic hurdles but enthusiastically offer help, including organizing bake sales. The meeting ends warmly as Ethel’s daughter, Anke, reaches for her, charming the group.

Ozzie wins a Land camera in poker. Between March and June 1950, he photographs Katja weekly, carrying the latest snapshot over his heart and laying them sequentially on his bed at night. He now spends weekends sleeping on Jelka’s floor with Katja on his chest. Their relationship has found a comfortable rhythm. They pretend that Jelka’s husband does not exist.

At Katja’s six-month celebration, Ozzie discovers she can crawl. He brings cigarettes and candy for Jelka and provisions for her mother, Maria. When Jelka complains that he only photographs Katja, they take a family picture together with her sister Jutta operating the camera. By June, nine-month-old Katja pulls herself up and babbles “dadadadadada.”

One evening, while Ozzie reads to sleeping Katja, Jelka reveals a letter from Gottfried. He has fallen ill and expects a quick transfer back to Germany. A neighbor’s son recently returned from a Soviet camp looking gaunt and lifeless. Jelka fears Gottfried will have Ozzie arrested and Katja removed. Ozzie suggests Jelka and Katja hide at her friend’s house in Ulm until they resolve the situation. Jelka insists Ozzie come with them, declaring her love and desire for them to be a family. Ozzie squeezes her hand, knowing his first duty is protecting them.

In September 1951, Ethel picks up her children from elementary school. While waiting, a German woman recognizes her as the “Brown Fairy” from a newspaper article and asks for help placing her baby. Ethel directs her to St. Hildegard’s orphanage. Her children Heinz and Monika bound out happily, but Franz moves slowly and is expressionless.

At home, Franz bursts into the kitchen sobbing. He leads Ethel to the bathroom where she discovers a scouring pad in the sink. Horrified, she realizes Franz has been scrubbing his skin. He begs her to bleach his skin so he can look pale like other children. Heartbroken, Ethel tells him that God made him perfect and applies Vaseline to his raw skin.

That evening, Ethel types an article about Franz’s attempted self-harm, using it as urgent proof these children need loving Black American homes. When Bert returns, she shares the incident. Saddened, he suggests getting Franz “Negro League” (235) baseball cards to instill racial pride. Ethel discusses her struggle finding airlines to transport children to America, having been rejected by the air force, TWA, and Pan American. Bert suggests trying Scandinavian Airlines or Lufthansa.

Back at West Oak Forest Academy, Sophia retreats to a private library room to read Mrs. Porter Wesley’s articles. Max enters, noticing her hair is now red after Ms. Eleanor took them to a beauty parlor where the dye was stripped and her natural color revealed. He discovers the “brown babies” articles and angrily accuses Sophia of betraying his secret. She swears she told no one and this is her first time reading them.

Calming down, Max reads the articles, stunned to learn there were so many other children like him adopted from Germany. Sophia confides she has never felt she belonged anywhere either. She contrasts Willa’s loving home with her own, where her parents feel like employers who never showed affection, remembered her birthday, or supported her achievements. At the Prides’ home, Sophia had noticed numerous photos of Willa at every life stage proudly displayed. This made her realize there were no baby pictures of her or Walter at the farm. Combined with the German words she inexplicably spoke and her connection to Max’s story, Sophia confesses her suspicion that she, too, was adopted.

Max promises to help investigate. Sophia shows him three pages torn from a DC phone book listing everyone named Gathers. She plans to call every number until she finds Ethel Gathers, the woman who ran the “Brown Baby Plan.” They pledge to keep each other’s secrets. Max reassures her, promising in German that he will help, and takes her hand.

On Ozzie’s 22nd birthday in December 1950, Jelka arranges a night out while her mother watches 15-month-old Katja. Katja cries inconsolably when they leave. Jelka takes him to the Soda Club, where they meet Morgan and Satchel.

When Ozzie returns from the bathroom, he finds a tall, blond American soldier harassing Jelka. The man makes racist remarks and threatens Ozzie with lynching. Ozzie is enraged when the soldier calls him “boy” (246) and shoves him. Morgan intervenes, and the soldier backs down. Ozzie and Jelka leave. Later, they rent a room by the hour.

The next evening, Ozzie, Morgan, and Satchel eat in the mess hall, excitedly discussing a newspaper article about the first three Black players signed to the NBA. They make a pact to meet in New York for a game when they return stateside.

First Sergeant Petty and two soldiers approach, ordering Ozzie to follow them to a deserted office. Petty informs Ozzie that he has been promoted to corporal, effective immediately. Ozzie is honored until Petty reveals he must leave for Auerbach, 400 kilometers away, in 30 minutes. Ozzie requests a delay to say goodbye to his daughter. Petty dismisses the request.

Ozzie packs in a daze, conflicted about the promotion and his sudden departure. He sees Morgan outside and quickly explains the situation, giving him an envelope to deliver to Jelka and asking him to look after Katja.

In December 1965, Sophia skips lunch to use the dormitory pay phone. She trades Walter’s dollar with Miz Peaches for dimes, giving her 10 calls. She has 92 Gathers listings to call and realizes she needs more money. Her first calls yield wrong numbers or disconnections. Before basketball practice, she uses three of her remaining dimes on unsuccessful calls, leaving her with only 20 cents.

In the locker room, she notices a teammate’s purse left unattended. Desperate for call money, she is tempted to steal but hears approaching footsteps. Margaret enters as Sophia pretends to tie her shoe, narrowly avoiding being caught. She realizes she would have been the prime suspect if money had gone missing.

Three days later, Sophia skips lunch again to make her final two calls. Finding a line at the dorm phone, she uses the less private phone near the dining hall. Max runs into her and offers moral support, standing outside while she enters the booth. She dials Alan Gathers and holds her breath.

In May 1952, Ethel receives a letter and immediately prays the rosary in thanks. She tells Julia that Scandinavian Airlines agreed to transport four adopted children to America at a low cost. However, the airline requires a guardian to accompany the children. Julia volunteers Ethel and promises the “Negro Wives club” will care for Ethel’s children during her absence. The flight is scheduled for early August.

The next day, Ethel heads to St. Hildegard’s to share the news with Sister Ursula. Approaching the orphanage, she smells smoke and sees that the roof has collapsed on one side. Sister Ursula explains that a fire started in the kitchen due to old wiring and plumbing. All 26 children survived but are displaced. Sister Ursula asks Ethel to persuade the airline to take additional children, mentioning a desperate mother named Durchdenwald. Ethel promises to do her best.

In January 1951, after three weeks at Camp Casanova in Auerbach, Ozzie is demoralized. His corporal promotion brought no advancement toward intelligence; instead, he performs manual labor cleaning a former POW camp rumored to become CIA headquarters. He shovels waste, clears rubble, repairs roofs, and paints in freezing conditions. His living quarters are squalid with flimsy cots, smelly rooms, and inadequate showers.

Most distressing, he has received no word from Jelka. Without her physical address or a telephone number, he cannot contact her. He sent two letters to Morgan with a map to her house but received no reply. Ozzie is consumed with worry, especially with Gottfried’s imminent return threatening his daughter’s safety.

In June 1952, Ethel and her translator, Vera, attend a family court for six German mothers petitioning adoption by proxy. In the hallway, the mothers share their hardships. Frieda explains she earns only 30 marks monthly and was ostracized by friends. Heidi says keeping her child would prevent her from marrying. Jelka tearfully recounts searching for her child’s father in Auerbach unsuccessfully, and her husband’s threat to drown their daughter.

Inside, a judge ensures each mother understands she permanently relinquishes all parental rights. In an assembly room, the children arrive for final goodbyes. The mothers sob as they hold their children one last time. The children are then taken to a Wisenheim for a 10-day adjustment period. Ethel comforts Jelka, promising that her daughter will have a charmed life.

Two months later, Ethel, Sister Ursula, and seven children, including six-month-old Margit, travel to Frankfurt Airport. Sister Ursula blesses them and wishes Ethel safe travels to New York. Once there, the children will travel to adoptive families across America. As they wait to board, Ethel feels something is wrong. On the plane, she reaches for her rosary beads for comfort and realizes she left them at home.

Sophia’s final call fails. She breaks down, telling Max she feels like she has opened Pandora’s box and cannot close it. As Max comforts her, Willa discovers them embracing and demands an explanation. To protect her secret, Sophia lies that her brother is sick. Willa seems unconvinced. Overwhelmed, Sophia runs out into the rain.

To distract herself, Sophia goes to the gym. In the locker room, she finds a picture of a red fox with blacked-out eyes taped inside her locker. She tears it down, knowing Patty left it. As Sophia undresses, Patty and two other girls corner her. Patty grabs her wrist and initiates a mock slave auction, calling her a “field nigger” (271). While Patty pins Sophia against the lockers, Opal pulls down her underwear, exposing her. Two other teammates witness the attack but do nothing as the girls taunt Sophia about her red pubic hair and burn scars. Margaret bursts in and orders Patty to release Sophia. Once freed, Sophia shoves Patty hard against a locker and threatens to beat her. Patty taunts that fighting will get her expelled. Margaret breaks it up and orders everyone to practice, wanting to hide the incident from the coach. Sophia walks out feeling humiliated and more alienated than ever.