In her 1926 diary, Daisy writes that she woke up feeling groggy and sore, as if she had walked for miles. She found items in her cottage moved and the words “I AM OUT” written in a childlike hand inside her diary (127), which she assumes was Katrina’s doing, though she has no proof.

Later, Ruth takes Daisy for a walk, sketches her portrait, and probes her about the spirit Azra. Daisy expresses fear, but Ruth insists that they must listen to what it has to say. While on a cliff overlooking the lake, they spot their boat adrift. After rushing to the dock with the other women, they find that its rope has been untied. Ruth informs them that the supply boat, their only connection to the mainland, will not return for another week, leaving them trapped on the island.

Back in the present, Marin is unable to sleep. She hears the same unplaceable scratching noise from the previous night. She reflects on their predicament: stranded on the island with no boat or phones. At dawn, she finds Violet in the main house kitchen making breakfast. They’re joined by Julianne, who says that she felt an unnerving presence in her cottage during the night.

Heather arrives, and the women discuss the séance. Marin maintains that it was a product of their collective subconscious, but Julianne insists that it felt real and questions how the glass spelled names that no one else knew. Heather voices her fear about being stranded if another medical emergency occurs. Julianne then implies, without saying it outright, that Azra may have been responsible for Brad’s sudden departure from the island.

In another entry from the 1926 diary, Daisy writes that Ruth has isolated herself in her bedroom. When Daisy brings her a dinner tray, she sees Ruth’s journal open to an entry expressing fear over Daisy’s unexpected power. Ruth fears that she has “opened a Pandora’s box” (140).

At a tense dinner, Jonquil accuses someone of setting the boat adrift. Katrina blames Daisy, suggesting that she did it to monopolize Ruth’s attention. The argument is cut short when Mrs. Minafer silences them and declares that the supernatural entity Azra was the one who untied the boat.

Back in the present, Marin investigates the parlor for evidence of trickery from the séance but finds no logical explanation for the events. However, on the table, she arranges nine scattered letter tiles and recognizes that they spell the message “YOURE LAST.” When Susie enters, Marin quickly scrambles the letters.

Marin confronts Susie about her hostile attitude. Susie admits that her resentment stems from a belief that Marin didn’t earn her leading role and only received it because the director, Ronan, is “smitten” with her. Before leaving, Marin asks what Susie heard during the séance’s chaotic end. After initially denying hearing anything, Susie confesses that a voice whispered to her, “You will be first” (147).

Marin, Violet, and Ronan rehearse a scene on the cliff. Ronan gives Marin direction that helps her connect with the character. Afterward, they talk alone. Ronan explains that Elise, the name that upset him during the séance, was an aspiring actress he knew who died two years prior. He reassures Marin of her importance to the film.

As they prepare to leave, Marin trips and scrapes her knee. Ronan removes his shirt to use as a bandage and, while tending the wound, pats her knee, letting his hand rest there long enough to give her a pleasurable jolt. He then carries her back to her cottage. From her porch, Susie watches them with a knowing look. Marin reflects that she wouldn’t mind if Ronan truly were attracted to her.

That night, Marin sees Ronan go to Susie’s cottage and get invited inside, leaving Marin feeling betrayed and foolish. Later, unable to sleep, she hears scratching noises and a new, loud thumping sound. She then sees a dripping wet, human-shaped shadow outside her window, which she believes is the ghost of her dead sister, Molly.

Terrified, Marin hides, chanting a dismissal of the ghost as a figment of her imagination. When she looks again, the figure is gone. Trying to rationalize the experience as a hallucination, she goes onto the porch to the exact spot where the figure stood. She’s horrified to find that while the rest of the porch is dry, the spot where Molly stood is wet.

The narrative presents another 1926 diary entry. Daisy has a vivid nightmare in which she follows a cloaked figure whom she identifies as Azra into the woods. She watches from the trees as Azra approaches a large rock in a clearing where Katrina lies. As Azra raises a knife, Katrina wakes up and screams.

Daisy wakes, shaken and perspiring. She’s horrified to discover muddy footprints leading from the door to her bed. Her shoes, which are out of place, are caked in mud and pine needles, suggesting that she was outside during the night. She realizes with terror that her nightmare may have been real and that she might have been in the woods while she slept.

Back in the present, Marin tries to convince herself that her vision of Molly was just a nightmare, noting that the entire porch is now covered in dew, which could explain the wet spot. As she walks toward the main house, she notices something high up in the branches of the large oak tree. It’s a set of clothes: the cream-colored blouse and maroon skirt from Susie’s costume. While staring at the clothes, Marin remembers the voice from the séance telling Susie that she would be first.

In her 1926 diary, Daisy reports that Katrina is missing. She’s the first to spot Katrina’s clothes hanging high in the oak tree. Her shriek draws out Jonquil, and together they confirm that Katrina’s cottage is empty. Daisy tells Jonquil and Mrs. Minafer about her nightmare, suggesting that Katrina may be at the rock in the woods. Over Mrs. Minafer’s frightened objections, Daisy and Jonquil resolve to search the forest. Daisy is certain that Katrina’s disappearance is connected to her nightmare and the séance.

Back in the present, Marin alerts the others. The group gathers at the oak tree, where Heather accuses Ronan of orchestrating another prank, which he denies. They search Susie’s cottage and find her wallet and vape, but she’s gone. The group understands that the clothes in the tree are meant to indicate that Susie is gone, mirroring the events from Daisy’s diary. Marin reveals that Ronan was the last person to see Susie. He admits that he visited her cottage at her request to talk about the movie but left when she made a sexual advance. The group remains suspicious of him. 

The group decides to search the island in pairs, with Ronan staying behind. Marin and Violet head into the woods, where they discover the mossy clearing and large rock exactly as described in Daisy’s diary. On top of the rock, they find a digital camcorder. Believing that it belongs to Susie, Marin presses play.