Before they leave Russia, Bella tells Kat that Zach is taking some time to spend with his family; she seems relaxed about this, claiming that she will find a new partner somehow. The day after returning to Los Angeles, Kat goes to the academy rink early in the morning to clear her mind about what happened in Moscow; she is stunned to find Heath there.

Heath reveals that he has been invited back to the academy. Bella and Garrett enter, and Kat realizes that Heath is Bella’s new partner. She is stung by their betrayal: Bella and Garrett for not telling her and Heath for accepting.

In the documentary, Ellis, Francesca, and Kirk discuss Heath’s remarkable improvements in technique when he resurfaced after his three-year absence. Garrett reflects on how although there was allegedly no in-fighting, Kat and Bella grew distant after Heath’s return.

After Heath’s return, Kat finds herself struggling to dance at the same level as Garrett; simultaneously, Heath’s greatly improved technique results in him and Bella becoming a power pairing. However, he refuses to tell anyone where he trained in the years he was gone.

Out on a run one day, Kat and Heath cross paths. Kat is concerned to see an array of scars running across Heath’s shirtless back, but when she asks him about it, he shuts down. He leaves, claiming that Kat abandoned him; an infuriated Kat resolves not to let Heath get in the way of her Olympic dream.

The documentary shows snippets of the 2005 and 2006 seasons, with Kat and Garrett and Heath and Bella respectively winning each of the separate events they participate in. When the pairs finally compete in the 2005 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan, Heath and Bella unexpectedly triumph over Kat and Garrett.

Sheila hosts a New Year’s Eve charity gala for all the senior ice-dancing teams from her academy. Bella unexpectedly invites Kat to get ready for the gala with her and the other girls, and they gossip about love interests. Kat refutes any romantic involvement between her and Garrett and privately wonders why he has never made a move on her. The girls then ask Bella about Heath, insinuating that there is something romantic between them.

Bella unconvincingly dismisses the notion, but Kat confronts her privately, warning her that Heath will discard her once he has gotten what he wants. Bella, however, resents Kat’s insinuation that Heath’s return has to do with Kat; the girls accuse each other of only caring about winning, and Kat storms off, claiming that their friendship is over.

At the charity gala event, as Garrett and Kat prepare to skate for the crowd, Bella and Heath are announced as the first performers; Bella is dressed in the same Cleopatra outfit that her mother wore when she won gold at the Olympics.

In the documentary, different interviewees discuss Sheila and Kirk’s iconic performance as Anthony and Cleopatra, which won them the gold at the Calgary Olympics in 1988.

Kat burns with hatred and envy as she watches Heath and Bella perform perfectly. At the end of the performance, deviating from the original choreography, Heath kisses Bella.

In the documentary, Garrett denies any romantic involvement between Heath and Bella, while Francesca and Ellis are convinced that there was something going on.

Kat is disturbed by the kiss, convinced that Heath only kissed Bella to get back at her. However, her intensity translates into a stellar performance when she and Garrett skate together, earning her a nod of approval from Sheila.

Kat changes out of her skating costume to rejoin the party; however, she encounters Heath in the elevator. Feeling the sexual tension between them, Kat runs out of the elevator and onto the beach to get some air, only to find Garrett and Ellis in a romantic moment.

In the documentary, Kirk, Ellis, and Garret all speak about the pressure to remain closeted in the ice-dancing world. Ellis asserts that he never felt like he could hide his sexuality, while Garrett confesses that he felt like he needed to carry himself a certain way; he could only be true to himself much later in life.

Ellis leaves an apologetic Kat and Garrett alone to talk things out. Kat assures Garret that his secret is safe with her, especially when he confesses that not even Bella and Sheila know the truth. Kat and Garrett talk about their respective insecurities, and she confesses that she is from a small, midwestern town, not Chicago, as she originally claimed. Garrett, in turn, reveals that Sheila’s real name is Lin Li-Mei and that her parents ran a store in Sugar Land, Texas. Amazed at their similar roots, Kat is hopeful that she, too, could “transform [herself] as completely as [Sheila] had” (200). Kat and Garrett walk back to the hotel together, running into Heath along the way.

Heath assumes that Garrett and Kat are together romantically, and Kat lets him believe this, choosing to protect Garrett’s secret. She points out that he has no right to be jealous after having abandoned her for three years; she asserts that he was scared he wasn’t enough for her, and he still isn’t. As the clock strikes midnight and people celebrate the new year, Kat privately resolves that this will be the year she will make Heath regret everything.

In the documentary, Garrett talks about how Kat grew increasingly intense in the new year. Clips from the 2006 Nationals show Kat making uncharacteristic mistakes in an event after training too hard. Despite Heath and Bella pulling ahead slightly, Kat remains laser-focused on winning after the final, free-dance event.

Kat mentally prepares for the final event at the 2006 Nationals. However, as she and Garrett warm up on the rink, she unexpectedly collides hard with Bella.

In the documentary, Garrett denies that Bella would have collided with Kat on purpose, while Ellis maintains the opposite. Documentary footage zooms in on Bella’s face: “At the moment of impact, she’s looking right at Katarina with a resolute expression” (211). Medics lead Kat away to get her checked over.

The medic declares that Kat has a mild concussion, but she decides to skate anyway, despite Heath’s pleas that she safeguard her health. Sheila refuses to intervene.

In the documentary, different interviewees discuss how Kat seemed fine at first, but it progressively became clear that she was not okay. Footage shows her eventually falling again and hitting her head hard on the ice, bleeding profusely. As medics bring out stretchers, Heath rushes out onto the ice.

When Kat wakes up in the hospital, Heath is by her side. She asks what happened with the finals, but Heath declares that he doesn’t know or care. Kat has faint memories of Bella pleading with Heath not to leave and asks him what he did.

In the documentary, Garrett, Ellis, and Kirk discuss how Heath carried Kat off the ice herself, ignoring Bella’s pleas. With Kat’s fall and Heath and Bella’s non-performance, neither pair was chosen for the Olympics team; Ellis and Josie were one of the two teams who eventually went.

Kat is finally released from the hospital and asks Heath to take her home.

Heath and Kat drive to her childhood home, only to find it abandoned, with Lee nowhere in sight. The two of them settle in for the night.

In the documentary, Garrett expresses his relief at not having had to perform at the Olympics after all, though Bella was devastated. Veronika gloats about the fate that befell “Sheila Lin and her elite skating academy and her superstar children with their gold medal-winning pedigree” (228). Ellis discusses his decision to end his competitive career after that Olympics as footage shows his and Josie’s disastrous performance.

Kat and Heath spend weeks together, with Kat slowly recovering from her injuries. Though they fall back into a passionate relationship again, Heath delays any talk of them returning to skating again. They also learn that Lee is in prison for dealing drugs. In late March, Kat and Heath receive an unexpected visit from the Lin twins.

Bella and Garrett express their concern for Kat; they reveal that they even tried to visit her at the hospital, but Heath didn’t let them see her. Kat and Bella talk privately—Bella doesn’t admit to crashing into Kat on purpose but does apologize for what happened. She urges Kat to return to the sport, promising that she will not get between Kat and Heath again. To Kat’s confusion, she also says that she and Heath won’t have any trouble finding sponsors anymore.

In the documentary, interviewees discuss the media’s attention on Kat and Heath following a photograph of Heath carrying a bloodied Kat off the ice. Ellis launched a “figure skating gossip blog” that, in its early days, mostly wrote about Kat and Heath, as the topic drew in immense traffic (236). Documentary footage shows a clip from an interview with Lee, claiming that the famous photograph was the first time he had heard anything of Kat since she left home.

After Bella shows Kat the picture and she discovers the media frenzy surrounding her and Heath, Kat convinces Heath to go back to ice dancing as partners.

In the documentary, interviewees discuss the intense paparazzi attention and popularity that Kat and Heath enjoyed when they returned to Los Angeles. Bella partnered with Garrett, but both pairs struggled to readjust to their new partners.

In the beginning, Kat and Heath struggle so much that they are forced to pull out of a couple of events. Kat grows determined to make it to the French Grand Prix, but at the last minute, Sheila informs them that none of the coaches will be able to accompany them.

Kat and Heath make it through their events, but their scores only place them in third position before the final event. She is also frustrated with the choreography that Sheila has chosen for them. As she takes a minute for herself before a scheduled press conference, she runs into Veronika Volkova.

During their brief conversation, Veronika insinuates that the media attention surrounding Kat and Heath is Sheila’s doing. Kat is astounded by this, remembering how Sheila always told them to ignore the paparazzi. She tells Heath that she has a plan for how to win the competition.

In the documentary, interviewees discuss Heath and Kat’s electric performance at that event, which turned their ballet-inspired choreography into something intense and sensual. Jane expresses her displeasure at what she believed was a vulgar performance, while Kirk reiterates that Kat and Heath’s technical execution of the piece was nearly perfect. Documentary footage shows them receiving high scores, placing them at the top of the competition.

Kat and Heath win gold in Paris and celebrate by going out together. They spend the evening dancing at a nightclub, intertwined with each other, before ending it at their hotel suite. Kat wakes up to missed calls and a message from Sheila, demanding that Kat call her immediately.

Sheila berates Kat for how she and Heath conducted themselves in public the previous night. Kat remembers her conversation with Veronika and realizes that it explains how Sheila knows about their night before the tabloids have even been published. Kat pushes back against Sheila’s criticism of her personal choices, saying that her and Heath’s time at the academy has come to an end.