Around 2:30 am on December 7, Charlotte wakes in a crowded Camp Hill Hospital ward. Her last memory is speaking to her daughter Aileen before the explosion. Panicked, she tries to leave the cot to search for her baby, but a CAMC nurse stops her. The nurse explains that there was an explosion and that Charlotte has two sutured wounds, one on her head and one on her leg, plus a concussion. No baby was brought in with her.

The nurse reveals that Richmond was devastated, and Charlotte likely survived because she was walking outdoors. Overwhelmed, Charlotte blames herself for taking Aileen outside. The nurse’s gentle insistence that Charlotte must heal to search for her daughter provides focus. Charlotte prays for Aileen’s safety and for her late husband to watch over them, then falls back asleep, imagining her baby safe in her arms.

On the morning of December 7, Nora wakes beside Evelyn as a blizzard rages. In the kitchen, Mrs. Thompson has already started breakfast and announces she will stay to manage the household so Nora can work. Overwhelmed with gratitude but missing Jane, Nora packs lunch for herself and Captain McLeod. Nora struggles to hide her morning sickness.

At Camp Hill, Matron Cotton assigns her to surgery based on her exemplary suturing. Nora checks patient lists for her family but finds nothing. She spends the morning assisting with grueling surgeries. During a break, she shares the food with McLeod and offers him a permanent room at the house, noting boarder Harry is unlikely to return.

After her shift ends, Nora stops at the post office to mail a letter to her grandparents and brothers about their missing family members. As she walks home, the weight of responsibility crushes her. She collapses in a snowbank, overwhelmed by her grief for Jane, baby Clara, and her parents and by her fear about raising Evelyn alone while pregnant.

At home, Mrs. Thompson, the boarders John and Milton, and McLeod create a small sense of normalcy. They update her on relief efforts citywide. McLeod carries a sleeping Evelyn upstairs. In the hallway, Nora breaks down, and McLeod embraces her, offering friendship and reassurance. Flustered, she reminds him she has a beau overseas. She crawls into bed beside Evelyn and falls into a dreamless sleep.

On December 8, Charlotte wakes more alert, though her leg throbs painfully. A nurse and Dr. McLeod attend to her. He examines her wounds and tells her she should recover fully, though Charlotte cannot imagine life without Aileen. She asks if a baby matching her daughter’s description has been admitted. McLeod says there hasn’t but suggests Aileen might be at another hospital or with family.

As he examines her leg, Charlotte has a panic attack, gasping that she cannot survive without her baby. McLeod calmly tells her she must heal and regain strength to search for her daughter. The possibility that Aileen might be with Frank’s family provides Charlotte with the focus she needs. She resolves to follow all the doctor’s instructions so she can find her daughter.

By December 11, the initial chaos at Camp Hill has eased. Nora spends her day off searching hospitals across Halifax but finds no trace of her family. She witnesses widespread devastation throughout the city.

Nora returns home exhausted, and Mrs. Thompson coaxes her inside. Nora announces she must check the morgues next and acknowledges she will have to become Evelyn’s mother. She keeps her pregnancy secret, fearing Mrs. Thompson will leave. Mrs. Thompson agrees to stay at the boarding house temporarily and brings along her cat, Buttons, which comforts Evelyn.

The next morning, Nora suffers her worst bout of morning sickness yet, and McLeod asks if she is pregnant. Nora admits the truth, revealing that Jane was the only one who knew and that the father is at the front but has not written. McLeod promises not to report her but says he won’t lie if asked directly. He offers medical advice for her symptoms.

Nora tells him she plans to visit the Chebucto School morgue after her shift and insists on going alone. At the hospital doors, she feels a new tension knowing her career now rests in his hands.

That evening, Nora arrives at the Chebucto School morgue, dreading what she will find. Professor McRae leads her through rows of bodies, many of them children. She identifies Jane’s body and collects her personal effects, including a wedding ring and the linked-hearts necklace that matches the one she wears. McRae confirms that Jane was found alone on Brunswick Street with no baby. Nora then identifies her parents’ bodies and collects their belongings. Despite searching all the remaining bodies and personal effects, she finds no trace of Clara.

Outside the house, she unleashes her rage and grief at her father’s abandoned car. She hurls snow at the vehicle and the boarding house’s porch, screaming curses at the war and the senseless destruction it’s caused. Neil finds her and holds her as she collapses, wailing. He carries her inside and up to her bedroom, removes her wet boots and coat, and covers her with a blanket.

He returns with rye whiskey to calm her nerves and admits he also drinks to cope with the horrors he witnesses. He promises to have Mrs. Thompson bring food and says he will check on her later. Alone, Nora reflects on how he cared for her, called her by her first name, and how she now thinks of him as Neil.

On December 12, Charlotte is discharged from Camp Hill wearing donated clothing. In pain and with no money, she begins walking toward Richmond. A cab driver named John offers her a free ride when he learns she has just left the hospital. As they drive, Charlotte sees that the North End is completely flattened all the way to the harbor.

John must stop at the Richmond barricade. Charlotte convinces soldiers to let her pass by by explaining her baby is missing. She finds the Campbell house still standing but severely damaged and abandoned. Inside, everything is destroyed. Upstairs in her mother-in-law’s bedroom, she discovers Emmeline’s body with a large glass shard in her throat. Horrified, Charlotte says a prayer.

She carefully climbs to her attic room and packs her and Aileen’s belongings, including the wooden rattle Frank carved. As she retrieves her savings box, she realizes Emmeline’s body has been there for six days. Believing that the rest of Frank’s family likely also perished, she takes the household money and ration coupons from the kitchen. Leaving the damaged house, Charlotte vows never to return, having now lost two families and two homes in Richmond.