Ten days after her surgery, Nurse Irene takes Lena from the ward. Lena hopes she is being discharged but is told she must assist with bathing “low-grade patients” (306). When she hesitates, Irene threatens to send her to the blind room, and Lena agrees.

In a cold, green-tiled bathing room, naked women stand waiting while others are forced through monthly baths in four tubs of cold water. Nurses scrub them quickly and roughly, sometimes without soap. A muscular nurse places a struggling woman into a tub and orders Lena to hold her down. Lena restrains the woman despite pain from her healing incision and apologizes while the nurse washes her with lye soap. At the nurse’s instruction, Lena holds the woman’s legs apart so she can be washed between them. When it is over, the woman thanks Lena, saying no one has ever asked if she was all right. Lena continues assisting with additional baths.

After the last patient is taken away, Irene tells Lena it is her turn to bathe in the same water. Lena declines and says she will bathe first the next day if she is required to help again. She then waits by the door to be let out.

Over the next two months, through late October and early November, Lena remains in the Colony ward. She cries frequently but continues performing assigned tasks. She asks daily to see Dr. Bell and is denied each time. She worries about Silas, Bonnie, Jack Henry, and the other residents of Wolfe Hollow, uncertain who remains or where she would go if released.

Nurse Irene eventually informs Lena that she is being discharged. The release is conditional parole with monitoring. Irene explains that George Pollock inquired about employing Lena; Lena objects, and Irene states that Dr. Bell declined the request and is permitting Lena to return to the Silas Wolfe residence. Lena hopes Silas has found the children or will help her search.

Irene outlines the conditions of parole: Lena must avoid “promiscuous” (312) behavior, avoid trouble, and refrain from attempting to locate her daughter through police or other means. Violation will result in recommitment to the Colony. Lena agrees to the terms in order to secure her release.

A taxi brings Lena to Wolfe Hollow Farm, where the property appears quiet and neglected. Silas comes out of the house barefoot and unkempt, pointing a rifle at her until she identifies herself and explains she was confined at the Colony. He asks where his children are; when she says she does not know, he says he confronted George Pollock and spent three weeks in jail. During that time, most of his livestock died; only one cow and his mule, Ole Sal, survived, with help from neighbors Virgil and Judd. He tells Lena he has no work for her and that the government is preparing to take the property. When she urges him to keep searching, he says no one has recovered children taken as theirs were.

Inside, the house is cluttered with dirty dishes, ashes from the fireplace, and empty canning jars. Lena goes upstairs but notices Poppy, the rag doll Bonnie gave Ella, under the kitchen table. She takes it to her room, where the sight of Ella’s empty crib overwhelms her. She considers whether different choices, including going with Pollock, might have prevented Ella’s removal. She removes her Colony clothing and lies down, intending to sleep.

With Silas and his truck gone the next morning, Lena burns her Colony garments, bathes, and begins cleaning the house. When Silas returns drunk that afternoon, a pattern forms: He disappears daily to drink while Lena cooks, cleans, and replaces some of his moonshine with water and wild cherry bitters. She inventories their food, determined to keep the house ready for the children’s return, and considers persuading Silas to report the children taken, or learning to drive his truck herself to do so.

A week after her release, a convoy arrives, including Sheriff Dixon’s paddy wagon. Mr. Doug Clancy announces that the government now owns the property and they are there to move Silas out. Lena sees George Pollock among them. Men remove equipment and livestock from the barn and sheds; the barn is set on fire. When Silas arrives drunk, he fires a shot in the air as movers begin emptying the house. The sheriff, his deputy, and several men overpower him, disarm him, and tie him to a pine tree. Pollock approaches and reminds Silas of his earlier offer. Lena urges Silas to comply so he will not be jailed and so they can continue searching for the children, but he says they will not see them again.

When movers carry out Ella’s crib, Lena retrieves Poppy and a blanket. A mover tells her to gather any items she wants to keep. She loads Silas’s truck with clothes, photographs, kitchen items, and preserved food while Silas remains restrained. The men pour kerosene on the house and set it on fire. Lena watches as the house burns and collapses.

Neighbors drawn by the smoke, Teensy and Judd McDaniel, the Blanchards, and the McCauleys, arrive and gather around Lena and the bound Silas. Lena tells them Ella was taken the same day as Bonnie and Jack Henry and that she was confined at the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded. Teensy explains that Silas had searched extensively, visiting orphanages, contacting the governor, and appealing to federal authorities, and was told the children had been adopted by a “more suitable family” (333) and to stop inquiring or risk being sent to the “nuthouse” (333). Lena learns that Silas had already been informed the children would not be returned. Betty Lee leaves to fetch Granny Creed, and Teensy offers Lena and Silas temporary shelter. Sheriff Dixon orders the neighbors to leave, threatening arrest.

Lena remains beside Silas. She attempts to give him water, but he does not respond. When the deputy unties him in preparation to take him to jail, Silas collapses. The sheriff and deputy attempt to rouse him. As the sheriff begins to lower his weapon, Silas suddenly rises, seizes the sheriff’s pistol, and aims it at him, demanding his land and children back. Rejecting the sheriff’s assurances, Silas places the gun under his chin and pulls the trigger. Lena falls to her knees, crying out.

The narrative shifts to October 1948 in Richmond, where Lena works with Teensy at McDaniels’ Fruit & Vegetables in the Sixth Street Market. In the years since the eviction from Wolfe Hollow, displaced mountain families experienced delayed resettlement and social prejudice. Lena initially lived with the McDaniels near Lynchburg, supporting themselves through mending and other work during the Depression. During the war, they moved to Richmond, where Teensy worked as a switchboard operator, Judd as a welder, and Lena in a foundry. After the war, when Lena lost her foundry position, Teensy and Judd, who had since established a farm and market stall, offered her work there.

Lena continues to search for Ella, writing to orphanages and institutions and studying young women who resemble her daughter. She remains in correspondence with her brother Enzo, who survived service in the Wehrmacht and imprisonment in a British POW camp and now lives in Germany with his wife and children.

Earlier that day, a young woman named Camille stopped at the stall with her younger sister, Olivia. Both resemble what Ella might look like as an adult. Lena learns they are from South Boston, Virginia, before their mother arrives and takes them away, mentioning preparations for an event that evening. The encounter unsettles Lena and remains on her mind.

As they close the stall, Teensy encourages Lena to attend the Grand Ball for the Tobacco Festival. Lena hesitates, having declined past suitors and wary of marriage after Ella’s father abandoned her. Recalling that Camille mentioned preparing for the evening’s event, Lena considers the possibility of seeing her again and agrees to attend.