The narrative moves back in time. After his arrest, Denny is taken to Woodmont County Jail to be processed. While a worker named Tahni completes his intake procedure, Denny learns he has been charged with resisting arrest and possession of firearms without a permit. His literal answers to standard booking questions frustrate Tahni. After Denny is fingerprinted and has his mug shot taken, an officer named Chaunce confiscates his clothes and issues him an orange jumpsuit. Denny is permitted one phone call, but he is unable to reach his adoptive mother, Nana-Jo, and the officer refuses to help him find an alternate number. The next day, a court-appointed lawyer, Ruben, represents him at a hearing. Denny pleads not guilty, but the judge denies bail, deeming him a flight risk due to a prior arrest and the circumstances of the current one. The chapter ends with Denny incarcerated in the county jail.

In his jail cell, Denny begins writing in a notebook provided by Dr. Harland. He explains that he was arrested eight days ago after he wrapped numerous guns in plastic, strapped them to a sled, and crashed at the bottom of Penguin Hill, scattering the weapons. At Dr. Harland’s request, Denny details his life, describing the loving Nana-Jo, Nana-Jo’s distant daughter Lydia, his Saint Bernard George, and Angus, his cousin and boss at the Department of Transportation, and his new lawyer, Bridget Klein. He also explains that he didn’t receive enough oxygen when he was born because the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and that he has an IQ of 72.

Angus visits Denny at least once a day. On his first visit to the jail, he told Denny that the police had a search warrant for the duplex where they live, which made anxious that the authorities would discover the “secret plants” (marijuana) that he grows and sells from his basement.

Denny then makes a list of facts important to his case. He reveals this is his third arrest and that Nana-Jo was recently fired from her longtime housekeeping job by Henry Tesky. Denny claims Mr. Tesky later tried to run him over with his car. The summary culminates with the revelation that Mr. Tesky was recently found dead from a fatal gunshot wound. The police matched one of the guns from Denny’s sledding accident to the murder weapon, and Denny has been charged with his murder.

Bridget prepares Denny for his arraignment on the felony charge of murdering mayoral candidate Mr. Tesky. She warns him the case is drawing intense media attention and instructs him to maintain a good “optic” by not speaking to anyone. After facing a chaotic crowd of reporters, Denny and Bridget enter the courtroom. Bridget moves to change the trial’s venue on the basis that Denny “won’t be able to get a fair trial here in Woodmont County” (18), but Judge Milton Saginaw denies the motion. Denny interrupts to ask for a speedy trial so he can go home but is admonished by the judge. He is formally charged with second-degree murder and, following Bridget’s instructions, pleads “not guilty.” The judge states a trial date will be set as soon as possible, and Denny is returned to jail.

Denny meets with Bridget, who wants to discuss the guns he possessed at his arrest. Denny lists several rifles and shotguns belonging to his adoptive father, the late Papa-Jo, but Bridget focuses on a specific Smith & Wesson .38 Special handgun. This gun was used to kill Mr. Tesky. Denny insists he had never seen the handgun before finding it with the other firearms in his family’s root cellar.

Bridget reveals that the handgun was registered to Irene Tesky, the victim’s deceased wife. Denny finds this strange, stating his Papa-Jo disliked handguns and his Nana-Jo hates all guns. Bridget then questions if Denny’s cousin, Angus, could have planted the gun, noting that Angus has a key to the house. The suggestion causes Denny significant distress, and he refuses to talk about Mr. Tesky. Before leaving, Bridget asks if Angus has ever told him to lie. Denny denies this, but adds that Angus has sometimes told him not to tell anyone about certain things.

In jail, Denny grows increasingly distressed when Nana-Jo does not visit. He realizes the police could not reach her because their home phone is disconnected. Angus arrives and delivers the news that Nana-Jo had a stroke after police informed her of Denny’s arrest. She is now in the hospital with aphasia, unable to speak. With Lydia unreachable, a judge has made Angus his temporary legal guardian. The shock of this information triggers a panic attack in Denny. He dissociates and enters a fugue state he calls “going away for a while” (28). He regains awareness in a meeting room with Angus and Dr. Harland, who are discussing his condition. Denny then forces a reluctant Angus to leave by threatening to reveal embarrassing secrets, allowing him to speak privately with the doctor.

While in custody, Denny undergoes daily psychological assessment meetings with Dr. Harland to help Bridget with his case. Dr. Harland guides Denny’s writing, urging him to focus on the story of his arrest and not get sidetracked by irrelevant details. Denny has a critical realization that the police who arrested him with guns in a sled likely perceived him as a violent threat heading toward the elementary school, not as a “good guy” taking the weapons to the police station as he intended. To help Denny tell his story more clearly, Dr. Harland has an artist named Charla draw a map of Denny’s neighborhood as he describes it, including his home at the bottom of Penguin Hill and the location of the Teskys’ McMansion at the top.

Denny explains to Dr. Harland how his troubles began with Tom Hanks, an aggressive, flightless goose owned by his neighbors, the Timkos. The narrative flashes back to an incident in which the goose attacked him. Angus suggests filming the incidents for TikTok fame and criticizes Denny’s unambitious life. The narrative also reveals that Angus was fired from his security job at the Norida yogurt factory after catching Mr. Tesky, who had married the owner’s daughter and taken over the business, having an affair with his secretary. When Denny returns home, he asks Nana-Jo for help dealing with the goose. Visibly stressed from her own health and financial issues, Nana-Jo refuses, telling Denny he needs to start solving his own problems. She says that she is getting old and will not be around forever to help him. This conversation leaves Denny feeling scared and alone, and he resolves to handle the situation with the goose by himself.

Denny explains his plan about the goose to Dr. Harland. Denny researched Canada geese on the computer and learned they mate for life and have long memories. He also discovered they dislike being touched, making him realize he likely angered the goose by trying to hug it. He then conducted surveillance on the goose for a week with binoculars he borrowed from Angus. He observed that Mrs. Timko fed Tom Hanks daily while Mr. Timko was hostile toward him. Denny also noted that Tom Hanks had broken his left wing, leaving him unable to fly. Based on this research, Denny concluded Tom Hanks was sad and angry because his broken wing left him stranded in Minnesota, unable to fly home to his lifelong mate in Canada. As a result, Denny decided he must kidnap Tom Hanks.

Denny recounts to Dr. Harland the story of how he kidnapped Tom Hanks. He created a six-step plan to capture the goose and release it in Canada. He explains that his doctor, Dr. Baker, once told Nana-Jo he has something close to an eidetic memory, which allows him to perfectly recall the route to an unofficial border crossing he once visited with Angus. Inspired by a YouTube video, Denny researches the medicines in Nana-Jo’s cabinet and discovers Benadryl causes drowsiness. On a day his Nana-Jo and the Timkos are away, Denny lures Tom Hanks with oatmeal laced with Benadryl. After the goose becomes sleepy, he captures it in a burlap sack and transports it in his bike basket. Following his memory, he bikes for over two hours to the border, pulls the still-unconscious goose under the fence into Canada, and, exhausted, falls asleep while waiting for it to wake up.

Denny continues recounting his story to Dr. Harland. After waking up alone in Canada, Denny is confronted at gunpoint by both US and Canadian border patrol officers. His literal answers and claims of being with Tom Hanks confuse them. As their questioning intensifies, a stressed Denny begins to stutter and confesses to having “drugged” and “kidnapped” Tom Hanks. Alarmed, a Canadian officer calls for backup, tases a panicking Denny, and places him in handcuffs. Denny wets himself and blacks out from the ordeal. He awakens in a room just as Nana-Jo arrives with clean clothes. Denny concludes the story by sharing Dr. Harland’s view that this incident marked the beginning of his troubles, as it was the first time he acted on his own without a “gatekeeper.”

Denny asks Angus to bring his scrapbook to jail so he can show Dr. Harland a newspaper clipping about his first arrest. The article describes how Denny, then 29, was detained for mischief after illegally crossing into Canada by jumping a farmer’s fence. Tom Hanks has not been found.

Following the kidnapping of Tom Hanks, Nana-Jo proposes community service to the judge, who agrees it would be an acceptable sentence. The judge also orders Denny to apologize to his neighbors. Denny tells Mrs. Timko that the goose is happy in Canada and gives her a birdhouse, which she eventually uses, signaling the beginning of her healing. While performing his community service picking up trash, Denny meets Nori, the new owner of the local laundromat. He recognizes her as the Frito-Lay delivery driver from a previous awkward encounter. Three years prior, he unloaded one of her deliveries without her authorization. She asked him to stop and then threw a water bottle at him when he persisted. 

When Nori asks if they’ve met, Denny confesses everything, explaining that her job as a Frito-Lay delivery person is his dream. Impressed by his honesty, she agrees to make a fresh start. Denny then meets her six-year-old son, Theo, who has Tourette’s syndrome. Denny connects with the boy, sharing his own challenges and reassuring him about his upcoming swim lessons. The chapter ends with Denny leaving to get a ladder to clean Nori’s windows, having made two new friends as an unexpected result of his punishment.

As part of his community service, Denny washes the windows at Nori’s laundromat. Nori shares that Theo is struggling at his swim lessons due to his tics. She shows Denny a note Theo wrote about kids not wanting to play with him. Feeling empathy, Denny offers to be Theo’s friend and suggests bringing George to the next swim lesson. Denny claims George is a therapy dog, which is untrue, but George is able to enter the pool because he has an official-looking harness. With George present, Theo gains confidence and gets into the water. Over the next four months, Denny and George attend every lesson. Theo’s tics diminish, he passes his Minnow test, and a deep friendship forms between Denny, Nori, and Theo. This happy routine continues until January, when Denny is arrested.

During a session with Dr. Harland, Denny explains that most of his “training” happened at home. He recounts how Nana-Jo pulled him out of school at age 12 after a bully physically attacked him. Nana-Jo then taught Denny essential life skills, including manners, budgeting, chores, and reading. She also gave him coping mechanisms for managing his emotions, though Denny reveals that Angus’s suggestion to sing the theme song from Toy Story proved more effective. Denny also shares that Papa-Jo taught him home maintenance and, secretly, how to do target shooting with a .22 rifle for self-protection. This training continued until Nana-Jo discovered it and put a stop to it because she believes guns are dangerous. After discussing Papa-Jo’s death and the subsequent failure of his business, Dr. Harland presses Denny about the gun. Denny admits that, like Nana-Jo, he now believes guns are dangerous.