Tom quickly loses his way in London, but is afraid to ask anyone for directions for fear of being taken advantage of. He stumbles upon Cherry, and they discuss what has happened among their acquaintances since they last saw each other. She tells him that Merry is inside Todgers’s, but he senses a change between the sisters. When he goes inside, Tom is shocked to see how much Merry has changed. She asks him to tell Old Martin that she often thinks of their last conversation.

When Merry leaves the house, Tom runs into Mrs. Todgers, who says that Merry never tells anyone about her struggles, though everyone can see what she is going through with Jonas. Cherry finds Moddle, who is able to show Tom the way back to John’s house. Tom tells John what has happened that day, offering to take him back to his new lodgings. John asks him directly if he needs money, as John is willing to provide it. As John drops Tom off at his door, he sees Ruth through the window and thinks she is beautiful.

Mr. Nadgett, Tigg’s spy, constantly keeps an eye on Jonas, who has now become a director for the Anglo-Bengalee Company. He often makes appointments with a man who never shows up at public places, where he can learn Jonas’s secrets, such as Sweedlepipe’s barber shop and Mould’s funeral home. Nadgett goes to see Tigg one morning and gives him pages of his notes on Jonas—the contents of which are not revealed until later in the novel. Tigg seems greatly interested.

Just then, Jonas shows up at Tigg’s house, and Tigg asks Nadgett not to leave him alone with Jonas. Jonas tells Tigg he is dissatisfied with his business, as Tigg’s regulations won’t let him access the money he earns easily. Jonas is suspicious of the business, though Tigg asks him to put more money in it, and get his relatives, like Pecksniff, to do so as well. Tigg whispers to Jonas what he has learned from Nadgett’s notes, blackmailing Jonas into doing as he says.

Ruth gets great satisfaction keeping house for her brother, and the Pinches are both happier than ever in their new home. Both siblings want to apply for work, but Tom doesn’t want Ruth to leave if she can help it, and he hopes John will be able to help secure him a job good enough to take care of them both.

John comes to their home and is somewhat distracted by Ruth making a pudding. He tells Tom that someone claiming to know a friend of Tom’s was hoping to hire Tom as a secretary, for the great price of a hundred pounds a year. The man gave John his calling card, introducing himself as Mr. Fips—a name Tom has never heard—and said he wasn’t at liberty to say anything else about his mysterious friend. Fips expects them to call later that day, though John, Tom, and Ruth are all astonished by this surprise offer.

John suspects Tom has a mysterious benefactor as they go to visit Mr. Fips. Fips reaffirms to Tom and John that it is his friend, not himself, who wants to employ him, though his friend is out of town and he will be handling all the business matters. Fips hires Tom and tells him he can start tomorrow, but resolves no mysteries about the offer.

Fips takes Tom to his new workplace in Temple Bar, a dusty, abandoned building full of books that Tom is to catalogue. Tom and John laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation and look for clues as to the identity of the building’s owner, but can’t find anything. John suspects Mr. Fips is just whimsical and has a secret hatred for Pecksniff, and so hired Tom on his own. They return to dinner with Ruth, talking about everything that has happened with their acquaintances since John came to London.

Tom enjoys his work organizing and cataloguing the books in Temple Bar, all the while wondering who his employer is. At one point, he supposes it is Pecksniff, regretful of his actions, but John dissuades him from this idea. Tom and Ruth walk together in the mornings, often by the docks to watch the steamboats. One day at the dock, they come across Mrs. Gamp, complaining of her woes and waiting for someone to get on a ship. She spots the couple she is looking for and suggests that if the woman dies on the ship, it will be murder by the man who is with her.

Coincidentally, Tom runs into his landlord, who is looking for the same couple, both of whom are dressed so their faces can’t be seen. The landlord gives Tom a letter to give to the man of the couple, because Tom will be faster, and he agrees. When he approaches the man, Tom is surprised to see it is Jonas Chuzzlewit. As soon as he reads the letter, Jonas finds Merry and rushes them off the boat.

While Jonas is looking for the person who sent the letter, Tigg finds him, telling him they have business to do and sarcastically apologizing for having to take him from his trip. Meanwhile, Gamp clings to Merry until Jonas agrees to let her take Merry home and look after her. Tom is confused by the whole scene and his small part in it when he sees Merry summoning him. She tries to figure out what has happened and asks for Tom’s help, but he can’t offer any. From a nearby bridge, Nadgett watches the whole scene.

Tigg takes Jonas back to his office and chides him for attempting to flee from his blackmail. While Tigg doesn’t care what Jonas has done, he wants to use this secret for profit, especially if Jonas also doesn’t care if Pecksniff loses all his money. Jonas is somewhat interested in this part of the plan and wants to take Tigg down to see Pecksniff that night. Tigg hesitantly agrees, and they make plans to leave the next night.

Tigg meets with Nadgett, who mentions that he got the letter to Jonas with the help of his lodger, Tom Pinch, a name Tigg recognizes. Before they leave, Jonas dines with his friend Jobling, the doctor, and plays with some of his medical implements as the doctor tells him about a murder committed with one of them. Jonas takes a great interest in this story, especially how the murderer never gets caught.

Jonas and Tigg drive through a storm at night on their way to Wiltshire, going as quickly as possible, with Bailey accompanying them on the outside of the carriage. In the darkness, Tigg thinks he sees Jonas attempting to swing a bottle at his head.

Toward the end of their journey, their horses are scared by lightning and drive the carriage into a ditch, throwing Tigg outside. Jonas stops one of the horses from stepping on Tigg’s head, but the driver suggests that he might have accidentally killed Tigg in the process. Bailey is badly hurt from the fall, and when taken to a doctor, he is given little chance of regaining his mental capacities from his concussion. Once they reach their inn, Tigg secures the doors as best he can to keep Jonas from coming to his room, fearing what Jonas may do to him.

During the same storm, a traveler visits Mrs. Lupin in the Blue Dragon, claiming to be a relative of Mark Tapley. When Mrs. Lupin appears clearly grieved, the man shows himself to be Mark and kisses her.

Martin waits outside, and Mrs. Lupin promises to keep the secret of their arrival from the rest of the staff. Mrs. Lupin feeds them and tells the two everything that has happened in town since their departure for America. Martin is infuriated by how Pecksniff has treated Tom, Old Martin, and Mary, and nearly goes to confront the architect before he thinks better of it. She reveals Tom is doing well in London, and recently returned some money she lent him unspent.

They make a plan to confront Pecksniff. The next morning, Mark brings a letter to Old Martin, requesting an answer as to whether or not its writer can see him, but won’t tell Pecksniff who the letter is from. Pecksniff rips the letter to shreds before giving it back to Mark, who makes another attempt an hour later with Martin. When a servant answers, they both come into the house to find Pecksniff, Old Martin, and Mary all together. Having been changed in Eden, Martin sees his grandfather in a new light, especially once Old Martin begins to cry.

Martin tries to go to his grandfather, but Pecksniff intercedes before Old Martin tells him to stand down. Martin tells his grandfather about all his misfortunes abroad and how he has changed. He apologizes to Old Martin, begs his forgiveness for how they argued, and asks him to help him to live a normal life and get honest work. Pecksniff urges Old Martin not to listen to his grandson, the liar, and speaks for him when he tells Martin to leave and not speak to them again. Martin ignores Pecksniff, only wanting to hear from his grandfather, but all Old Martin offers is to repay any debts Martin incurred in escaping America, still speaking through Pecksniff. Pecksniff and Old Martin leave the room.

Martin embraces Mary, and she asks why he never wrote to her. They discuss how Pecksniff made advances on Mary, how Old Martin knows of and supports this behavior, and how Mary never gives Pecksniff a chance to be alone with her. Mary still has hope that the two Martins can reconcile, especially as one gets close to death, yet she has noticed how much Pecksniff has changed him.

Martin and Mark escape before Pecksniff can enter again. As they are leaving, they run into someone they vaguely recognize who is heading toward Pecksniff’s house. When they arrive at the Blue Dragon, Mrs. Lupin says that Jonas, Merry’s husband, has come to visit Pecksniff.

Pecksniff acts worried for Merry when Jonas arrives at his door, but Jonas sees through him. Jonas tells him he is not staying because he has an important friend with him, but he invites Pecksniff to dine with them at the Blue Dragon. Jonas tries to entice Pecksniff to join their company by talking about the money and acclaim he and Tigg have earned. By the time he meets Tigg at dinner, Pecksniff is primed to follow his lead.

When Tigg learns Old Martin is in Pecksniff’s thrall, they joke about the importance of building their fortune on the weaknesses of others. The dinner goes exactly as Tigg and Jonas planned, with Pecksniff signing over almost all of his wealth (aside from what he expects from Old Martin) to become a partner in the Anglo-Bengalee Company. Once Pecksniff has left, Tigg gives Jonas the documents to sign, but Jonas starts when he sees he is signing in red ink. Jonas plans to leave that night, to Tigg’s satisfaction, as he plans to return to Salisbury to check on Bailey.

Ruth comes to visit Tom outside work after their adventure at the docks, but happens to see John. Upon seeing him and not Tom, she flees, unsure of why she is embarrassed, but John follows. He approaches her and accompanies her to find Tom, who is surprised to find them together and both blushing. John invites them both to dinner at his home nearby, where Tom tells him about what happened at the docks. John is greatly interested in this story, but doesn’t give details as to how he knows a few of the involved characters.