The Book of Lost Hours

Amelia wanders around the time space for hours. Eventually, Anton finds her and takes her into a memory to rest.

Meanwhile, James regains consciousness, and Moira explains what happened with Jack. James is still hesitant to believe that Moira is part of the revolt, but she convinces him that he has no choice. She takes the watches from him and urges him to get out of town with his family.

Moira drives to Washington, DC, to the CIA headquarters and gets there around one o’clock in the morning. She goes to Jack’s office and opens the safe under his desk. Inside is the coat she wore in the time space, Ernest’s notebook about Lisavet, as well as Jack’s own notes on Lisavet/Moira and a file on Amelia. As Moira prepares to leave, Agent Brady stops her at the door. He questions what she is doing. Jack was supposed to call him with an update from Boston, but he never heard from him. Instead of answering, Moira grabs a lamp and swings at him. He ducks, but she manages to escape and locks him in Jack’s office. She then goes to her car and begins driving toward Manhattan.

Amelia awakens in a memory. She is in a house in the countryside. She goes outside and finds Anton. He explains that they are in one of his childhood memories. He points out his two sisters and his father. His mother died shortly after giving birth to him. When his father died, Anton was forced to become a timekeeper. He found out later that his two sisters died in an orphanage. In response, Amelia quotes a poem by Emily Dickinson, prompting both teasing and appreciation from Anton. The two shake hands, promising to be friends.

Amelia and Anton return to the time space. He tells her that he has been in the time space for over a month, as the KGB and the CIA are both hunting him. His only chance of escaping was with Ernest, who put the KGB’s watches into the chasm.

Amelia asks about Lisavet’s book. Anton tells her that his father found it years ago and kept it in his home. Anton found it a few months ago. He showed it to Ernest, and its contents caused him to change. Amelia asks Anton to look at it with her. They step into a memory of Lisavet as a child, her father telling her that it is too late for bedtime stories.

In 1957, sometime in the spring, Jack leaves the office for two weeks. Moira is assigned to work for Ernest. She is hesitant, but Jack insists that he trusts her. Moira knows that both Elaina and Ernest’s mother have recently died, leaving Ernest to care for Amelia.

Over the first few days, Ernest avoids Moira. He stays late in the office, and she stays with him, but he never asks her to do any work. One night, however, she takes his reports, insisting that she will type them for him. From there, she begins doing more work for him. 

On the Friday before Jack returns, Moira spends the afternoon organizing Ernest’s office. The two talk, and Ernest opens up about his difficulties raising Amelia, who is acting out at boarding school. Moira suggests that he take her to the zoo. On Monday, Moira goes to work early and finds Ernest at her desk, leaving a book of poetry by Edgar Allan Poe as a gift. He thanks her for her help and tells her that her advice with Amelia worked. He then asks her out on a date for Friday night, and Moira agrees. When Jack returns, Moira lies to him for the first time since leaving the time space, keeping the date a secret.

That Friday, Ernest is in the time space with Vasily. They now meet every few weeks, working together to save memories. Vasily teases Ernest about his date. Back at home, Ernest rushes to get ready, overwhelmed by nerves. He decides not to wear a tie. He then drives to the boardinghouse where Moira is staying and picks her up. Neither of them talks for several minutes. When Moira learns where they’re going, she points out that the restaurant he chose won’t let him in without a tie. Ernest is embarrassed, but Moira directs him elsewhere. They go to a shop that is closed, but Moira gets out and talks to the owner. Ernest is shocked to hear her speak German. Moira returns with bagels, and the two walk through the night together.

When Ernest takes Moira home, he hesitates but then kisses her outside the boardinghouse. They agree on another date.

Moira goes to a nightclub in New York—the same one that featured in Ernest’s memory and that she entered with him. On the third floor, she enters an apartment, where Ernest is waiting for her. She tells him the events that transpired over the last few days, showing him the watches from James.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Anton move through the memories in Lisavet’s books, beginning with Lisavet’s father’s memories and working through all the ones she saved. Eventually, they come to Lisavet’s first memory of Ernest: him stealing the pages from her and leaving behind the book cover. When they get to the hospital, Amelia realizes that they are watching her own birth. However, she then sees Elaina’s baby die and Lisavet come in with a new child. Witnessing this, Amelia recognizes Lisavet as Moira for the first time.

Azrael interrupts the memory. He tells them that they are seeing a memory that has been altered. He suggests to Amelia that they visit Moira’s living memories to get the full story. Anton insists that it is impossible, but Azrael assures him that Amelia, who was born in the time space, can do it.

After dating for six months, Ernest insists that he and Moira need to tell Jack. Moira waits outside Jack’s office as Ernest talks with him, adamant that Jack will be upset. However, when Ernest leaves, Jack calls her in and admits that he already knew that they were dating. Instead of being angry, he is impressed by how well Moira herself kept the relationship a secret. He comments that he may be able to use the information to his advantage later.

Jack then tells Moira that he has a job for her, making Moira wonder if he was saving the “test” for this moment. He shows her a picture of a Russian timekeeper, Vasily Stepanov, whom Moira recognizes as the timekeeper who stole her book.

In the TRP basement, Moira and Jack wait outside the door to the time space. After seven hours, Brady emerges with Vasily. The TRP agents point their guns at him, demanding to know why he is interfering with American timekeepers and destroying memories. Vasily refuses to talk, though he mentions Lisavet and her daughter. Suddenly, he disarms Brady, taking his gun and grabbing Moira. As he holds the gun to her head, Moira freezes time, leaving only her and Vasily untouched. She then disarms Vasily, pointing the gun at him.

Moira demands to know what Vasily knows about Lisavet’s daughter. He tells her that “we” are searching for her, as Vasily saw Lisavet place her daughter into a memory. However, when Moira asks who, specifically, is looking, Vasily insists that it is only him. Moira decides that she has no choice if she wants to protect Amelia. She then kills Vasily.

Unfreezing time, Moira gives the gun and Vasily’s watch to Brady. She then leaves the room. As Jack follows her, she can tell that he is afraid of her, knowing that she has powers he can’t control. Outside, Ernest is waiting for Moira. He sees that she is covered in blood, but she refuses to tell him what happened.

Two days later, Ernest is in the time space when he comes across Anton, sitting on the ground and sobbing. Anton explains that he forgot how to get out of the time space. When he reveals that Vasily is dead, Ernest is shocked. However, he shows him how to navigate and how to return to Russia, deciding that he is not yet ready to tell Anton about his friendship with his father.

Once Anton is gone, Ernest confronts Azrael about why he didn’t tell him about Vasily’s death. Azrael insists that he thought Ernest knew, as it was the CIA that killed him. Ernest remembers the blood on Moira’s clothes. When he returns to the real world, he goes to the boardinghouse and sees Moira. He apologizes for everything, insisting that he is in love with her. He tells himself that he will find a way for them to escape the dangers of everything together.