Ten days after Ellie arrives at the farm, Leda visits. She reveals Katie has been secretly seeing her excommunicated brother, Jacob, using Leda as an alibi. Ellie, furious, confronts Katie, who explains Jacob’s name is never spoken at home and admits she stopped visiting because she was needed at the farm, which Ellie guesses was to hide the pregnancy. Katie then asks about Ellie’s family; Ellie shares her estrangement from her father and a recent breakup, grieving that she has no children.

Dr. John “Coop” Cooper meets Katie by the creek for a first session, covering family, medical history, faith, and Rumspringa. Katie says she drank with her youth group, the Sparkies, before baptism. She denies being sexually active, denies having a baby, and admits seeing Hannah’s ghost. Afterward, Coop tells Ellie he cannot yet tell if Katie is lying or has “disassociated” from the pregnancy. He describes it as a common occurrence in neonaticide cases, where the mother’s conscience refuses to acknowledge the pregnancy at all. However, he warns Katie that it is always difficult to get a jury to believe an “insanity” defense. He offers to speak with her further, pro bono, and look into the possibility that she was raped.

Neonatal pathologist Dr. Owen Zeigler confirms the baby was born alive but says the cause of death is not definitively suffocation. Ellie weighs negligent homicide but knows it would still mean jail.

On Saturday, Katie waits for Samuel; he never comes. The next day, Ellie comforts her with a story about being stood up for prom. Katie guesses that Coop is the man Ellie loved in college; Ellie admits she ended that relationship.

In therapy, Katie says that on the morning the baby was found she thought she had her period, with heavy flow and cramps. When Coop asks how she knew the baby was a boy if she never saw him unwrapped, she cannot answer and flees. Coop tells Ellie that he is close to forcing Katie to confront the truth, leaving Katie to wonder what her best option is for a defense.

At a hymn sing, when Samuel publicly shuns Katie by sitting apart from her, Ellie chooses to sit with her instead. After, she allows Katie and Samuel to ride back together in his buggy. At the farm, Ellie overhears Samuel pressuring her to name the father, while Katie repeatedly denies that there was a baby. After Katie runs into the house, a dejected Samuel whispers that “[t]here was a baby” (152) to Ellie. She confirms it by apologizing to him.

Ellie hires polygraph examiner E. Trumbull “Bull” Tewksbury. One test shows no clear deception; a second flags deception on key items related to the pregnancy, rendering the results inconclusive.

After, Ellie goes with Katie to help her feed the calves. Ellie takes Sadie, a recently born calf, and feeds her with a bottle. As she does so, she notices that she is restrained and decides to unclip her to give her more freedom. When Sadie finishes eating, she jumps past Ellie, kicking her as she does so. After a struggle, Ellie manages to catch Sadie and restrain her again. Reflecting on the incident, Ellie questions the value of her legal work compared to physical labor that tangibly helps the family.

That night, Ellie and Coop discuss past relationships; he says his marriage failed for lack of trust and admits he came to see her. As they are about to kiss, they hear footsteps and find Katie at the cemetery, chipping at the baby’s headstone to remove part of the engraving. They stop her, and she seems confused as to where she is. Ellie notes that she managed to chip “born” off the word “stillborn” engraved on it.

As Ellie and Coop go back inside, they discuss what Katie did. Coop argues that she could be reconciling the facts about her pregnancy with her “unconscious.” He advises her that she has enough evidence to argue a mental disorder defense if she gets a forensic psychiatrist to evaluate her. As they sit by the pond, they kiss and rekindle their relationship.

Detective Munro visits Jacob at the university and tells him Katie has been charged with murder. Shocked, he says he did not know she was pregnant and insists her Amish gelassenheit—“submitting to a higher authority” (171)—means she could not have killed anyone. After Lizzie leaves, he calls Aunt Leda.

At Sunday service, Katie is called before the congregation for a members’ meeting. She confesses to the sin of premarital sex and is placed under the bann for six weeks. The baptized members, including her parents and a hesitant Samuel, agree to the shunning. To soften the hurt, Sarah places a second table beside the main one and covers both with a single cloth so Katie can eat close to the family.

Jacob sneaks onto the farm. He secretly pulls Ellie aside in the barn to argue that Katie’s faith would prevent murder. Ellie argues back that Katie still has her own free will, even if the Amish life will not let her. Meanwhile, at a shooting range, Lizzie and George Callahan discuss the strength of their case. She is adamant that they will win the case, while George questions whether they “overlooked” another suspect by fixating on Katie so quickly.

Coop takes Ellie to dinner in Philadelphia. At his apartment, their intimacy turns into an argument as Ellie recalls their past relationship. She struggles to admit that she never truly loved Coop, while he accuses her of being unwilling to take a chance with him.

Samuel attempts to court Mary Esch, Katie’s best friend. All he can think about is Katie, even when he kisses her. He attempts to grab her breasts, thinking about Katie having sexual intercourse as he does so. However, Mary pushes him off. Samuel apologizes while Mary comforts him, understanding the difficulties he is going through.

At the first pretrial hearing, the judge grants Ellie funds for a forensic psychiatrist. In a subsequent session, Katie admits to Coop she knew she was pregnant and claims that God helped her. He shares the breakthrough with Ellie, noting that she still shows no remorse, a sign of disassociation.

Dr. Teresa Polacci interviews Katie, who recalls pain, going to the barn, and feeling as if she were outside her body during the birth. Polacci tells Ellie that Katie fits a neonaticide profile and likely dissociated at the moment of birth. Katie admits to the birth but claims amnesia about the conception and the death; Polacci thinks she is lying about the conception, though the amnesia around the death could be genuine.

Pressed by Ellie, Katie fabricates a story about being assaulted at a party. After, Polacci points out that Ellie was lying, noting a timeline inconsistency. She discusses the case with Ellie and admits that she isn’t sure a mental disorder defense will work. That night, Katie apologizes, saying she felt pushed to give an answer.

The prosecution’s psychiatrist, Dr. Brian Riordan, interviews Katie. She maintains she fell asleep holding the baby and woke to find him gone, which she calls a miracle. Distressed, she breaks down. Riordan later advises Callahan what Ellie’s argument will be and how to argue against Katie having been in a dissociative state.

In a flashback, Adam and Katie are intimate under a tree. Overcome with guilt and the gap between their worlds, she tells him to leave.

Late at night, Katie wonders who could have killed the baby and whether she could have done it without remembering. Coop comes to apologize to Ellie; they make love by the pond and reconcile. Afterward, Ellie and Katie argue. Katie admits she wished the baby would disappear and says she sometimes wishes Ellie were her mother. Ellie comforts her.

In October, Ellie helps harvest tobacco and reflects on how farm work has changed her and earned Aaron’s respect. While hanging tobacco, Stephen arrives unexpectedly, noting how much attention the case is receiving and offering his advice. Ellie has him stay for dinner at the farm. Coop arrives, and the two men meet tensely. After dinner, Stephen realizes Ellie is with Coop; she confirms it, and he leaves. By the pond, Coop finds and comforts Ellie.

The next day, Coop helps fill the silo. Samuel publicly supports Katie by helping her with a heavy bundle of corn and, at a neighbor’s barn raising, by praising her potato salad, hoping to reconcile their relationship.

Preparing for Dr. Polacci’s visit, Ellie and Katie talk in the milk room. Playing with kittens, Katie rejects the mental disorder defense. She argues that she wants to tell the truth on the stand and that she will “still lose” if she is perceived as having a mental disorder. However, Ellie insists that she follow her advice and do what’s best to win the trial.

That night, Ellie finishes sewing a small quilt with Katie’s help. Katie calls it “a baby quilt” (228) for Ellie’s future children, inadvertently upsetting Sarah, who cannot have more children. Ellie apologizes.

Jacob returns to the farm despite Aaron’s ban. Aaron tells him to leave; Sarah embraces her son and later explains that Aaron blames himself for Jacob’s departure from the church. Jacob vows to keep coming back. Samuel tells Ellie he will serve as a character witness for Katie, even if it means being shunned.

At the final pretrial hearing, a nervous Katie breaks a pitcher. In Judge Philomena Ledbetter’s chambers, Ellie argues to dismiss the case on the grounds that Katie cannot have a jury of her peers because no Amish will serve. The judge finds the concern valid but denies the motion, setting trial for three and a half weeks later.

Back at the farm, Katie confronts Ellie and lays out what she says is the full truth: Adam Sinclair is the father; she consciously blocked out the pregnancy; she fell asleep in the barn holding the live baby and woke to find him gone. She insists she did not kill him and refuses the mental disorder defense, saying she must tell the truth in court to make things right and preserve the possibility of returning to her community. Understanding this, Ellie agrees to try a different approach, despite the risk.