Ro, Griff, and Della arrive at the pub and find Damien Hillary, Griff’s cousin and the late Warren’s brother, talking on the phone in the parking lot. Damien greets them but says he can’t stay for a drink, as he has an imminent work call with his colleagues in the UK.

Ro recalls that Damien was the last person to admit to seeing Sam alive; Sam had interviewed Damien on the day he vanished. The police were interested in Damien’s alibi, as he claimed to have been sleeping alone for several hours that afternoon, a period that couldn’t be fully accounted for but makes sense since he keeps UK hours for work.

Ann-Marie and Jacob arrive. Ro notes the strong physical resemblance between Jacob and Damien, which reflects a long-standing town rumor about Jacob’s paternity. Before leaving, Damien mentions the fallen branches that have smashed part of the verandah at the Hillary farmhouse, and Griff says he will clean them up. As Damien walks away, Ro recalls reading the typed transcript of his interview with Sam, a conversation that focused almost entirely on Damien and his own justifications regarding his pressure on Warren to sell the house.

Inside the pub, Ro is warmly greeted by her oldest friend, Heather Reece, whose wedding she attended in Carralon when she first met Griff. They agree that the pub is too public for a real conversation and arrange to have coffee at Heather’s house the next morning. When Della joins them, she immediately asks if Heather’s son, Darcy, is there. Heather explains that Darcy volunteered to stay behind to keep an eye on his two younger brothers, Kyle and Zach, who have been difficult lately.

Ro recalls her and Heather’s history. They met as young health professionals and became close friends, but Heather left Sydney to marry Noel Reece in Carralon Ridge. During the weekend of Heather’s wedding, Ro was charmed by the town and met Griff for the first time. The brief, intense connection that they formed at the wedding eventually led Ro to leave Sydney and move to Carralon to build a life with him. While standing in the pub, Ro reflects on how that weekend was the beginning of everything.

Ro and Heather join Noel; his father, Bernie Reece; and Griff at the bar. Ro silently observes that Bernie’s health has deteriorated significantly. She recalls how an episode years earlier led to tests that cleared him for dementia but revealed precancerous cells. Bernie, like Ann-Marie, was pressured into selling his family home to the Lentzer mine shortly after Damien sold the neighboring Hillary property after Warren’s death.

Nearby, Ro spots Della in a corner, engaged in what appears to be a serious, one-sided conversation with a downcast Jacob. Sylvie serves Ro a drink and asks about the upcoming memorial for Sam. As they talk, Ro thinks about a note she found in Sam’s research notebook. Next to Sylvie’s name, Sam had traced over a question mark near “Re: Warren and Lentzer. Ask Sylvie?” (116), a mystery that has bothered Ro for years.

Later that night, Ro is unable to sleep due to the constant, low rumbling from the mine. She thinks about the previous evening, when Della evaded her questions about her conversation with Jacob. Ro opens her laptop and reviews the transcripts from Sam’s university research project, which she knows, like the rest of Sam’s materials, by heart. She rereads Damien’s self-justifying statement about selling his family home, Noel’s overly positive portrayal of Carralon, and Ann-Marie’s bitter account of being forced out of her cottage.

Ro then picks up Sam’s notebook. It falls open to the page with his interview notes on Sylvie. Ro recalls questioning Sylvie about this note on three separate occasions over the past five years. Each time, Sylvie claimed to have no memory of what it could mean, but Ro has always been certain that she’s lying.

The next morning, Ro decides to give Heather a small, decorative mirror from the wall of the hut. Della asks to come with her to Heather’s farm, claiming that she needs a break from work. Sensing dishonesty, Ro correctly guesses that Della’s real motivation is to see Darcy.

Della admits that she wants to ask Darcy about something she recently heard, but she’s secretive about the details. She insists that it has little to do with Sam and warns Ro not to get her hopes up. Della promises to share what she learns after she has a chance to speak with Darcy and gather the facts. Ro agrees to the arrangement. As her daughter walks away, Ro catches her own reflection in the mirror and feels a sense of cold desperation that Della’s questions will yield some answers.

Ro and Della arrive at Heather and Noel’s farm to see Heather finishing a run, her expression one of grim determination. Inside the farmhouse, they hear loud video games and witness a tense confrontation between Heather and her teenage sons, during which one of them insults her. Heather apologizes for their behavior, explaining to Ro that the boys are frustrated and lonely in the dying town, with no friends or activities.

In the kitchen, Ro notices a pile of recent drone photos of the mine, presumably taken by Darcy. She then sees a black-and-white photo from Heather and Noel’s wedding day and spots herself and Griff in the background, standing apart as strangers just an hour before they met. Bernie appears, looking frail. As they talk, Della notices Darcy working on a motorbike outside the barn and goes out to speak with him.

Ro recalls visiting the abandoned stone bungalow four years ago, around the first anniversary of Sam’s disappearance. Bernie arrived to repair the board covering the former dining-room window, which a trespasser had tried to pry open. Bernie spoke fondly of Sam’s respectful character during his university interviews and wondered why Sam felt the need to visit the three abandoned houses on the day he vanished. He expressed regret that they didn’t demolish the derelict buildings, calling them a “dangerous draw.”

In the present, Noel joins the group on the back deck, looking exhausted. Ro watches as Della walks over to Darcy at the barn, and the two of them step back into the shadows of the building, disappearing from view. Heather then suggests that she and Ro go to the “saloon” to hang the mirror that Ro brought.

Heather leads Ro to the “Last Chance Saloon,” a large cabin in their paddock constructed from materials salvaged from Carralon Ridge’s abandoned homes. The saloon, which contains relics from the town, like Bernie’s old blue front door, was once a vivid family project but now feels stale and neglected. Noel joins them, confirming that his sons lost interest in it years ago.

Their conversation is interrupted by a crash and shouting from the main house. Heather goes to intervene with her sons. Left alone with Ro, Noel seems detached, and Ro can smell alcohol on his breath. As they hang Ro’s mirror on the wall, Noel says, “We’re not going anywhere” (147), gesturing at the saloon’s contents and citing his lifelong connection to the town.

Heather returns in tears, unable to handle the boys, and asks Noel for help. Across the yard, Ro sees Della, who gives her a subtle shake of the head. Taking the cue, Ro tells the distraught couple that it’s time for her and Della to leave.