The Book of Lost Hours

Moira’s plan works, and she spends the next five years working as the head of the TRP. She works desperately to stop the rebellion, erasing the memories of anyone who brings up Lisavet, but it only continues to grow.

One night, Moira comes home from work and finds Ernest standing on her doorstep. He is quiet and distant, so she invites him inside. He tells her that he saw her book and knows who she is, calling her “Lisavet.” He then shows her the watches that he stole from the TRP. He is angry at Moira not for erasing his memories but for fighting against the rebellion. He reveals that he has been orchestrating much of it. When Moira argues that nothing ever changes, Ernest insists that she is wrong. He tells her that even one idea, like Lisavet’s, has the power to change everything. Moira realizes that Jack’s primary goal over the years has been to change her, convincing her that she was wasting her time by preserving memories. When Ernest plays the song “Blue Moon” on the record player, they reconcile and have sex.

Afterward, Ernest explains that watches were stolen from countries across the world. The next stage of the rebels’ plan is to destroy all the watches, even their own, so that no one can ever enter the time space again.

The next morning, Ernest leaves Moira’s house. He is supposed to go to the apartment in New York City and wait. First, however, he goes to Boston to visit Amelia’s boarding school. As he watches her walk to her next class, he notes how much she looks like Lisavet. He wonders if he is making a mistake by trusting Moira; he knows that he can trust Lisavet, as she would never do anything to hurt him or Amelia, but he is unsure about Moira. In the end, he decides that he has no other choice but to trust her.

After Anton and Amelia finish looking through Lisavet’s memories, Anton is unsure how to feel, knowing that Lisavet killed his father. He apologizes to Amelia and then leaves to think things over. Amelia sits by the chasm alone.

In the apartment, things are uncomfortable between Moira and Ernest. She can tell that he doesn’t trust her fully but does not blame him. When he goes into the bedroom, he locks the door, leaving Moira alone. In the middle of the night, Moira goes onto the balcony. She thinks of how they are going to close off the time space, unsure where that will leave her, Amelia, and Ernest. Eventually, Ernest joins her on the balcony. He expresses his regret over not having tried harder to get her to leave with him back when Jack first discovered her existence. However, Moira is adamant that they never would have been able to escape, especially given the difficulty she had coming out of the time space in the hospital.

Later, while Ernest is showering, Moira checks over his notes. She sees that he is planning to use himself to destroy the time space, effectively ending his existence. When he gets out of the shower, she begs him not to go through with his plan. However, he is adamant that it is the only way to ensure its destruction. Moira wonders what will happen to her memories of him. Ernest insists that she and Amelia can finally be happy together. Moira begs Ernest to consider his other options before acting, and he agrees. The two then have sex.

In the middle of the night, Moira wakes up and finds that Ernest is gone. She sees that one of the watches is missing from the box. She takes her own watch and her gun.

In the time space, Ernest finds Amelia by the chasm. They embrace, with Amelia telling him that she saw all the memories. Ernest then asks where Anton is.

When Lisavet enters the time space for the first time in 13 years, she feels a sense of welcome and comfort. Azrael greets her, telling her that Amelia and Anton have seen her book of memories. Lisavet thanks him and asks him to stay nearby; he drifts away.

Lisavet walks through the time space, looking at the shelves and the stars in the sky. Suddenly, Anton attacks her, confronting her about killing his father. Lisavet is calm, telling him that she had no choice, as Vasily would have killed her to protect his children. When Anton asks why he should trust her, Lisavet disarms him but then gives him his gun back, offering to let him kill her for revenge. She realizes that Anton is disappointed and angered by who she actually is, as she does not live up to the myth. When she tells him that they need to find Ernest, Anton agrees but insists that he is only doing it for Ernest and Amelia.

Lisavet finds Amelia and Ernest. Lisavet accuses Ernest of lying to her, but he continues to insist that he is doing what is best for everyone. Seeing Amelia’s confusion, Lisavet explains what Ernest is planning. When Ernest gets distracted, Anton appears. With Lisavet’s pocket watch, he creates a door and then pulls Ernest through it, leaving Amelia and Lisavet alone.

Amelia angrily confronts Lisavet about her lies and actions. Lisavet admits that her actions were wrong but is adamant that she would do it all again—and more—to protect Amelia. Amelia relents, acknowledging that she understands. As they embrace, Lisavet takes Amelia’s watch, turns the dial, and pushes the crown. She then apologizes to Amelia and pushes her into the chasm, with the hole acting as a doorway back to the real world.

Azrael appears next to Lisavet. She explains that she needs to go back to the memories of the man who first discovered the time space. Azrael willingly lets her pull out his memories, and she steps into them, finding Azrael standing on the edge of a cliff. He is initially surprised, though not panicked, to see her there. She does not understand his words. She asks for his forgiveness and then pushes him over the cliff into the ocean below.

Back in the time space, Lisavet sees it crumbling around her. The book dissolves in her hand as the shelves collapse. She looks up at the stars.

Amelia lands on the floor of an unfamiliar room. It is like Ernest’s office in his home, yet somehow different. She looks out the window and sees a garden. She realizes that she is in her grandmother’s home, which Ernest sold in her childhood. Ernest comes into the room, scolding her for being awake so late. He offers her tea as Amelia pushes aside her confusion.

Alone in her bedroom, Amelia tries to figure out how she will live her life if she has no memory of it. Remembering that Azrael told her she was “untethered,” she closes her eyes and focuses on the sound of time.

When Ernest returns to his bedroom, Lisavet is there and asks where he was. He explains that Amelia was out of bed. He thinks back to how they met: When they were children, Ernest’s father owned a watch company. In 1938, he reached out to Lisavet’s father, whom he had trained with in Switzerland. Ezekiel came to Boston to work with Ernest’s father, bringing Lisavet and her brother with him. Ernest later took over his father’s company, with Lisavet becoming his best watchmaker. Eventually, they married.

By the next morning, Amelia has visited all her memories from this world. She learns of the life her parents built, never having worked for the CIA. She knows that she is happy in this life. She finds her father in the kitchen, and he asks her to take coffee out to her mother in the garden. When Amelia sees her mother, she sees traces of both Lisavet and Moira. However, she knows that this version of her will just be “mother.” Lisavet greets her, and they look down at the forget-me-not flowers blooming beneath them. When Lisavet comments on them, Amelia gets the sense that Lisavet remembers everything, too. She asks if this is real, voicing her fears that it may just be a dream. In response, Lisavet comments that, regardless, it is a good place to be.

Overwhelmed by curiosity, Amelia takes Ezekiel’s watch. She spins the dial and pushes the crown, but nothing happens. She concentrates on the whispers of time, picturing the time space. She then spins the watch again, and, this time, the time space opens before her. She steps through and sees that it is empty, with no books or shelves. Instead, memories fly free in the sky as stars. Content, she closes the door and never opens it again.

At school, Lisavet sees boys picking on an exchange student. She picks up his Russian-English dictionary and realizes that he is Anton. He is hostile toward her, but she gives him his dictionary back, and he begrudgingly thanks her. They sit together at lunch that day and then each day moving forward, eventually becoming friends.

Lisavet continues to exist, living in memories. She relives her life over and over again in various ways, happier than she has ever been and unconcerned with what is truly real. She lives among the stars of memories in the time space, shining brightly.