Leni reads Robert Service’s poetry from a book she found at the Salvation Army and wonders if Matthew will remain her friend after her father’s outburst. The next day, her father asks for her help handing him nails and mentions he didn’t sleep well. Leni worries about his mental health. When Ernt asks about Tom and Cora, Leni tries to defuse the situation by lying that Tom expressed sympathy for Ernt as a veteran. She tells her dad she likes it in Alaska, that “[s]he already felt more at home in Alaska than she ever had in Seattle” (73), and that drinking isn’t good for him.

At school, Geneva is their substitute teacher and takes the kids on a field trip. They go canoeing, with Matthew and Leni sharing a canoe. Leni apologizes for her father, but Matthew waves it aside. They agree to be friends no matter what. Leni’s mom and dad pick her up after school, and Ernt takes them to learn how to shoot. Leni puts the sight too close to her eye and gets hurt. Her dad tells her she needs to be a survivor and has her try again.

The next time Leni goes to school, she feels “almost proud of her injury” (81) because it means she’s becoming an Alaskan. She and Matthew decide to leave school early and take Matthew’s ATV to a plateau where they hike to see a nest of bald eagles. Matthew speaks of his sister Alyeska, who is in college at Fairbanks. Matthew himself wants to be a pilot. Leni confesses that war has changed her father. Matthew cautions her that winter is like one long night and that people can lose their minds and hurt their loved ones. He confesses his fear that his mom will leave. Matthew and Leni are sad that the school year is ending because once winter preparations begin in earnest, they will have little opportunity to see each other.

Days later, Leni and her mom shirk their chores to sit at the beach. Ernt has gone fishing with Mad Earl, and Cora admits she doesn’t think the older man is a good influence. Cora mentions that Ernt used to be different before the war, and Leni remembers that her mom was 16 when she was pregnant. Grandma and Grandpa Golliher thought their daughter was rebellious and had wanted her to give up Leni. Cora says Ernt is much better now in Alaska. Leni mentions the coming darkness and her concern for her father in severe weather, but Cora reassures her.

Preparations for winter continue with Leni and Matthew seeing each other whenever they can. Rain starts falling as summer turns into autumn, and school begins again with Leni and Matthew picking up where they left off.

One evening after Ernt has spent the afternoon with Mad Earl, his temper flares and he snaps at Cora. When he leaves, Leni considers that his condition is worsening with the weather. Leni wants to tell Matthew about her fears of her dad, but “[t]he disloyalty of such a thing was impossible to contemplate” (93). Ernt begins taking the family to Mad Earl’s so that Cora and Leni can learn how to fight and protect themselves for the war he believes is imminent. 

Days are shortening, and the weather grows unpredictable. Leni finds her chores more difficult and scarier to do in the darkness. Her father’s temper worries her. He and Cora argue over their limited supplies. Leni and her mom know that he is getting worse. Winter arrives with incessant snow, making “Leni’s life the smallest it had ever been” (93). The Allbrights spend days on chores to survive, while remaining confined to the cabin. As winter deepens, Ernt grows more agitated and restless, worrying about supplies, while Cora worries about him. For Leni, living with him becomes like “living with a wild animal” (94). Ernt begins having nightmares again and accidentally shoves Cora against the wall.

One morning, Ernt takes Leni and Cora hunting. He directs Leni to shoot a hare. Leni does so and feels momentarily conflicted, but she knows hunting is part of being Alaskan. Leni’s father guts it and offers her the heart to eat raw, which Cora protests. Although repulsed, Leni takes a bite. When her father tells her that he’s trying to make her self-sufficient, Leni hears an apology. In December, Leni’s dad is even edgier and has more nightmares. Cora says he has become a soldier again, and Leni spends her long nights worrying. Her dad wakes her up in the middle of the night against Cora’s protests to assemble a rifle in the dark. Despite his erratic behavior, the family decorates the cabin for Christmas.

They spend days inside listening to the radio, and one day, they hear that someone has gotten lost. The Allbrights spring into action, despite not knowing the lost person’s identity. When they arrive to the meeting point, they find out it’s Matthew and his mother, Geneva. Frightened for him, Leni joins the search party. She’s there when another group finds Matthew by the side of a frozen river. Heartbroken, Matthew says his mother fell. The rescue party takes him away to warm him up.