Gabrielle rushes to therapy with her practitioner Trudy. She suppresses most of her emotions, both positive and negative, to protect herself from further emotional pain. Therapy has helped her realize how coercive and negative her relationship with Max Daunt was, but she still struggles with emotional distance and dissociation. She starts to tell Trudy about the violin, but their time runs out.

Devlin asks to meet Gabrielle at a pub to discuss the violin. Gabrielle meets him, and she explains her desire to locate the violin’s luthier and uncover its past. Devlin wants to keep the violin because he likes to keep objects with stories. They order another round and discuss their pasts, finding that both of them struggle with isolation, loneliness, and feeling stuck in life. As they walk outside, Devlin passes by the pub’s stage and feels the call to perform again.

Devlin can’t sleep, so he takes the violin and stores it in a train station locker to keep it safe. He then goes to Walter’s house. Walter doesn’t immediately answer the door, even though he’s awake, thinking about the violin, the excitement it’s brought to his life, and his guilt for Gabrielle’s break-in. Devlin takes Walter for a fry-up breakfast and then to the local archery club for a beginner class. They have fun together, and Devlin tells Walter he’s booked them a pottery class the following week. Walter doesn’t want Devlin to feel obligated to take care of him, but Devlin assures Walter that he cares about him. Devlin asks to move in, since he wants to live somewhere with plumbing. Walter agrees but assures Devlin it will be temporary.

Clara’s consciousness (within the violin) decides to embrace the unknown future. Achille Paganini sells the violin to Maria Bashkirtseff, an eccentric artist. The violin later goes to Anton Pushkin, who is playing the violin in the Mariinsky Orchestra when he first sees Natalya Petrova, a ballerina in the Mariinsky Ballet.

Anton plays the violin in the background until one day, the violin soloist is caught in a blizzard and fails to arrive. Anton delivers a stunning solo with the violin. Natalya notices him, and Anton asks her to dinner. They begin a relationship as the ballet grows more successful. One night, Natalya’s partner fails to catch her, and she breaks her leg in two places. She is heartbroken that she will never dance again. He takes her to his home to recover, and she mourns her dance career. Anton sells the violin to afford a ring and proposes, and Natalya accepts.

Gabrielle attends therapy with Trudy again, but she still can’t bring herself to talk about Max or tell the truth about the violin. She leaves early and takes a cab to Walter’s place. She’s surprised to find Devlin there. He tells her the violin is stored at Paddington Station. Gabrielle informs them that the best way to discover the violin’s history is to go to Milan and visit Sforza Castle, a museum of rare instruments, to see if another violin by the same luthier exists.

Walter excitedly agrees, but Devlin hesitates, as he’s afraid of flying. The group retrieves the violin from Paddington Station, and Gabrielle gives Devlin some Xanax for the flight. He takes two before they even get to the airport.

Devlin takes two more Xanax on the plane and eventually falls asleep. Gabrielle and Walter discuss the violin and the potential motives behind its theft. Walter tries to talk to Gabrielle about her father’s death, but she pointedly redirects the conversation. She thinks that whoever wants the violin, in this case Verity, wants it for prestige. Devlin wakes up and throws up into a paper bag.

Gabrielle, Walter, and Devlin check into their hotel in Milan and head to Sforza Castle. Gabrielle leads Devlin and Walter around the Monzino Collection, explaining the carpentry and science behind the production of violins to Devlin. Walter notices the sparks of chemistry between them, but the moment fades when Devlin asks her tersely why they’ve come if Gabrielle doesn’t think the Monzinos made the violin.

The next morning, Gabrielle takes him and Walter to Cremona, the birthplace of the modern violin. Devlin and Gabrielle discuss the democratic nature of art, eschewing elitism, and Walter again notices their spark. Walter wonders if he can find a love like that himself, before falling asleep.

The group reaches the Museo del Violino. Devlin begins to explore the guitars on display while Gabrielle and Walter continue to look at the violins. Gabrielle sees one made in the Stradivari style by an unknown luthier. Gabrielle thinks it could be connected to their violin, as she and Walter both feel a vibration with the violins next to each other. Gabrielle takes photos of the violin and considers again what to do about Verity’s email. She tells Walter she can’t be sure if the violins are connected without more research.

The trio have dinner in a trattoria in Cremona like a family, though they were strangers a week prior. Gabrielle asks Walter what Devlin was like as a student, and Walter shares a story about Devlin: When Walter’s mother died, he took a month of family leave. The other students didn’t respect the substitute until Devlin lied and told the class she was his older cousin, and he’d deal with anyone who disrespected her. Devlin never knew the substitute overheard him talking to the class, nor that she told Walter about it.

The group plays a drinking game, whistling songs and trying to guess them. Walter and Devlin return to the hotel while Gabrielle stays for an espresso. Gabrielle walks back to the hotel, and the narrative reveals there is someone in the hallway who shouldn’t be there.

Devlin wakes up to Gabrielle pounding on the door. He opens it and sees her holding a knife and a bloody towel. Gabrielle can’t tell Devlin that she’s been in contact with Verity, so she pretends that she lost her key card and tried to get into her room with a knife. In reality, Gabrielle saw one of Verity’s bikers outside Devlin’s room and grabbed a knife off a room service cart. The man told Gabrielle that her reward has dropped to $10,000, and then, as a “message” from Verity, the man pushed Gabrielle’s hand, still holding the knife, down, stabbing her in the thigh (208).

Devlin helps Gabrielle to her room, but she looks pale. He carries her downstairs and rides with her in an ambulance to the hospital. She vocally resents being vulnerable to Devlin, and Devlin wonders what happened to make her so closed off. He wishes he could shield her from it.