In the days following Tom’s death, Meg feels numb and unable to cry. The other Heidelberg women help manage the house, and although they want to take Meg into their custody, Lucille insists she stay with her. Nevertheless, Lucille isolates herself in her bedroom, ignoring Meg.

Meg learns she will not be allowed to attend the funeral because Tom’s death was a suicide. While Lucille is at the service, Meg reads about burial customs in an encyclopedia, wishing she could have placed Tom’s favorite Fitzgerald book in his coffin. Lucille returns from the funeral in a rage, saying she provoked Mrs. Heidelberg by accusing her of killing Tom, after which Mrs. Heidelberg ripped off Lucille’s earrings, claiming they were family heirlooms she was unfit to wear.

A few days later, Lucille learns from a lawyer that Tom died without a will, leaving her with no assets. She meets with the Heidelbergs, who offer no financial support, stating they need time to reconsider their situation. Realizing she and Meg are destitute and completely dependent on them, Lucille begins drinking heavily in the morning.

A new, grim routine develops. Lucille threatens to abandon Meg if she attends school, so Meg lies to Willy May, claiming she is too grief-stricken to resume her education. Lucille spends her days drinking, and Meg becomes her reluctant caretaker, cleaning the house, making coffee, and mixing martinis. During her drunken ramblings, Lucille makes empty promises of a glamorous life in New York. At one point, she accidentally burns Meg with a cigarette.

One night, Meg is awakened by the smell of smoke. She finds Lucille passed out drunk in Tom’s office after setting the sofa on fire with a cigarette. After dousing the flames, Meg confronts the barely conscious Lucille, who casually remarks that Tom’s book “really isn’t that bad” after the opening (562). Appalled, Meg commits herself to tracking Lucille’s alcohol addiction, repurposing her school supplies to make a color wheel that will predict Lucille’s behavior.

A few days later, Mrs. Heidelberg and Willy May make a surprise visit. Aware of the neglect and the fire, Mrs. Heidelberg orders Lucille out of the house. When Lucille protests, Mrs. Heidelberg places a check and a stack of cash bills on the table. Lucille accepts them. Mrs. Heidelberg informs Meg she will be sent back to the Orphan Asylum in Oxford. That night, Meg allows herself to think of her birth mother for the first time in years.

In early October, with homecoming weekend approaching, business at the club is thriving. The routine is shattered by the unexpected return of Mrs. Tartt and Frances. They are exhausted and financially drained after a trip to deal with Rory, who remains in jail.

Birdie and Charlie scramble to hide all evidence of their operation. With all local hotels booked for homecoming, they are forced to house Mrs. Tartt and Frances in the hot, uncomfortable attic rooms. That evening, the women decide to open for business, fearing that turning away drunk, expectant clients would raise more suspicion than operating quietly. Charlie proposes paying Frances to keep Mrs. Tartt occupied and away from the main floors.

Later, Frances tells Birdie that Rory is being charged with attempted manslaughter. To avoid prison, he has agreed to a costly legal arrangement that includes entering a psychiatric hospital for conversion therapy. Frances, who does not name or fully understand her husband’s gay identity, supports the decision, hoping it will “cure” him and save her from the social shame of divorce.

Charlie asks Birdie to go to the bank and pay off the mortgage to secure the property. At the bank, Birdie is informed that the remainder of Mrs. Tartt’s mortgage has been dismissed, and she now owes only $1. Birdie concludes that Jack had arranged it as a gift to her. She then realizes he has not yet left Oxford.

Back at the house, Frances is rude to the maids and openly contemptuous when she formally meets two of the sex workers, Flossy and Ruby. After Frances insults them, Birdie allows Flossy and Ruby to confront her sister. Flossy bluntly explains that they are running a brothel and that Frances’s new job is to keep Mrs. Tartt from discovering the truth. Ruby threatens her with violence if she fails or continues to mistreat Birdie. Cornered, Frances accepts a payment of $50 for her silence, but tells Birdie she never wants to see her again after it is over.

Later, the sex workers are formally introduced to a newly coiffed Mrs. Tartt, who remains polite toward them even though she thinks their appearances are questionable. Charlie gives Mrs. Tartt and Frances tickets to a movie to keep them away from the house that evening.

Just before the club opens for the night, Jack arrives and confronts Birdie about her letter ending their relationship. He declares his love for her, explaining he does not care that she cannot have children and has taken a permanent job in Oxford to be near her. As they reconcile, the sex workers descend the stairs in their work attire. Jack grasps the true nature of the dance club but, rather than judging, calls Birdie brave.

Later that evening, Mrs. Tartt and Frances return from the movies. Mrs. Tartt watches the “dancing” on the back lawn while Charlie returns Mrs. Tartt’s wedding ring to her, which Birdie repurchased from Fauster’s shop for $21. This elicits Mrs. Tartt’s surprise and gratitude. Soon after, Mrs. Tartt goes upstairs but comes back down after seeing a man in one of the bedrooms. A disgruntled client then stomps past her, complaining about the service he received from Trixie and Dixie, who appear at the top of the stairs.

With the secret of their operation exposed, Charlie offers Mrs. Tartt her earnings of over $700. Birdie then reveals that the mortgage has already been forgiven. Realizing the money is pure profit, and that two more nights of homecoming business could make her financially secure for years, Mrs. Tartt invokes her late husband’s belief that business involves taking risks. She implicitly agrees to let the brothel continue operating.

The next day, Birdie tells Frances the full truth about Charlie’s past: The town doctor, Welty Pittman, is the father of Meg, and that his wife, Garnett Pittman, used her power to have Charlie forcibly sterilized. Frances’s allegiance to Garnett is visibly shaken.

The sex workers later have a picnic supper and discuss their plans for after the brothel closes: Esmeralda is moving to Paris, Virginia to medical school, and Flossy and Ruby to Chicago, though Flossy has a grim premonition about her future.

Charlie reveals her plan to drive to Byhalia to reclaim Meg from the Heidelbergs. Esmeralda offers Charlie her car for the trip. She warns her to drive carefully because the police will harass her for driving a car registered to a Black woman. Birdie is stunned to learn that Esmeralda is Black and has been passing as white; everyone else in the house already knew. Reflecting on this, Birdie feels that the group of misfits has become her true family.

On the brothel’s final night, Dr. Welty Pittman arrives. Charlie furiously confronts him for abandoning her and Meg to his cruel wife, Garnett. Welty reveals he has come because Tom Heidelberg is dead, and his mother, Isabelle, asked him to return Meg to the Orphan Asylum. However, he has instead told Mrs. Heidelberg that Birdie will take custody of Meg, giving Birdie his legal authority to do so. He leaves an envelope of money for Charlie and departs.

Later, Frances joins Birdie on the sleeping porch and confesses her unhappiness. Birdie gives her the $50 she was promised. After Frances sleeps, Birdie sees Mrs. Tartt and Charlie waltzing on the empty dance floor. The next morning, Frances wakes Birdie in a panic, warning that Garnett is leaving imminently to retrieve Meg herself.

They race to the asylum and confront Garnett in the moldy office. When Welty arrives, Birdie loudly announces his affair with Charlie, getting Miss Pripp to overhear it in the hopes that she will gossip about it to the rest of the community. Garnett turns to Frances, who confirms it. Seeing the state of the room where his daughter was kept, Welty finally stands up to his wife. He takes Meg’s file, hands it to Birdie, and tells her to go get his daughter.

On her last day at the Heidelbergs’ house, Meg dresses in her old uniform from the Orphan Asylum. Lucille, having been paid by Mrs. Heidelberg to leave, gives Meg a brief, cold hug and departs. Mr. Oney drives Meg to the main Heidelberg house to await pickup. Willy May sits with her on the porch, offering comfort as Meg dreads the arrival of Miss Garnett.

When a fancy car pulls up the drive, a woman gets out, but it is not Garnett. Meg is confused, as the woman looks like a slightly older version of her mother, Charlie. The woman holds out her arms, and Meg hesitantly approaches. They embrace, and Charlie whispers that she never meant to leave her. She quickly ushers a stunned Meg into the car, and they drive away toward a new life in Memphis.