In Jackson’s truck, Leigh realizes the world believes she is dead, so no one will search for her. When Jackson asks why she changed her mind, she lies, claiming she wants a fresh start. He seems skeptical but accepts her answer, then makes clear that people work with him, not for him, and that trust is essential: He does not tolerate lying. Leigh feels guilty, knowing her fugitive status could endanger him and his project.

Jackson outlines the work conditions: 12-hour days, six days a week, communal meals, and weekly pay. Leigh requests cash, and he agrees. She promises to stay until the project is running. He adds that the farm community “don’t have to hide their scars (151). When Leigh says hers are invisible, he replies that no scars are truly invisible.

At the farm, she meets Franklin Thibodeaux—Tibb—and is greeted warmly by Luke. Jackson shows her to a small cabin behind the main house. The next morning, he wakes her after she misses breakfast, and his tone during the morning meeting is sharp. Luke explains Jackson is frustrated because the town hall did not go well.

Luke gives Leigh a tour of the farm. A car arrives carrying Carly Sutterfield and her young son, Benny. Luke explains Carly is Jackson’s on-and-off ex-girlfriend, which unsettles Leigh. Carly is hostile to Leigh and possessive of Jackson. That evening, Leigh skips dinner. Jackson confronts her about avoiding the group, notices her bruises and injured wrist, and tells her it is okay not to be okay. He reminds her that breakfast is at six with his “real family.”

Over the next week, Jackson gives Leigh space as she continues to avoid communal meals. She settles into a routine of working, eating alone, and struggling to sleep, thinking often about her sister, Lila. Exploring the woods, she finds a body of water and begins swimming nightly. One night, hearing the men’s laughter from the kitchen, Leigh feels profoundly lonely. She reflects on how her survival mode has masked deeper emotions and decides she must change.

At the start of the second week, Jackson reports that no landowners have committed to the cooperative. They will focus instead on expanding onto the Sutterfield land, installing irrigation and building a greenhouse, hoop houses, and a barn. Poor soil tests mean extensive bed preparation.

The next morning, Jackson announces the first frost has killed the dahlias and they must dig up the tubers. He gives Leigh new insulated work boots and kneels to tie them, his touch unexpectedly tender. In the field, he uses the dormant tubers as a metaphor: Something can look dead while still alive underneath.

Working in the heat, Leigh grows nauseous and collapses. She wakes in her cabin with Jackson, Tibb, and Luke watching over her. She learns she was dehydrated and hit her head. Jackson carried her back and changed her clothes, explaining they were dirty and wet. He shares more of his past: After his mother died of a drug overdose, he was sent to an abusive foster home where he met Tibb. He tells Leigh they are a family who take care of their own. He invites her to choose to be part of it.

During two days of rest, Jackson brings Leigh large meals that she devours, recognizing the care behind them. On the third morning, Tibb leads her in yoga and discovers her wrist is broken, promising to get a brace. During meditation, traumatic memories surge of Deacon Ridley and Lila screaming in a fire. Panicking, Leigh pats herself down searching for burns. Tibb explains meditation can surface difficult memories and says it has become his own outlet for healing. Leigh confesses she is unsure if she can face her past.

She decides to join the others for breakfast for the first time. Luke makes his joke specialty, “scrambled pancakes,” and the men are happy to see her. The conversation turns to scars: Luke shows a surgery scar; Tibb and Jackson reveal cigarette burn scars from childhood abuse. Tibb says scars can be reminders of trauma or proof of survival. Spontaneously, Leigh lifts her shirt to reveal a long scar across her ribs, explaining she got it jumping out of a window. The shared vulnerability deepens their bond.

After breakfast, Leigh tells Jackson she does not know how to connect with people. He asks if she is ready to face her past, and she says she is. Later, while digging tubers, Jackson expands his metaphor: The first frost is surrender, cutting back strips away pain, and digging uncovers what has been buried. When Leigh asks what she needs, he tells her she needs “rest.” The word resonates deeply with her.

Expansion begins on the Sutterfield lot. On Friday evening, Carly arrives to pick up Jackson, and is again hostile toward Leigh and possessive of Jackson. Jackson remains kind to Leigh, ignoring Carly’s attitude.

Unsettled, Leigh walks to her swimming spot and reflects on Carly’s behavior, which reminds her of her mother’s sexual jealousy toward Lila. She recalls how her mother encouraged Deacon Ridley’s abuse of Lila, using Lila to keep him interested while growing increasingly jealous of her own daughter.

Leigh strips and swims in the cold water. Jackson suddenly appears at the riverbank, warning about alligators. She scrambles out naked; flustered, he turns away and throws her his sweater. They both laugh at the awkwardness.

Jackson explains the outing with Carly was a business meeting with Mr. Tidwell—not a date—and that it went poorly. He confides he is doubting his cooperative plan. Leigh encourages him and offers to help him achieve his purpose. He shares how his uncle helped him process grief through nightly walks after his mother’s death and invites Leigh to join him, offering to listen if she ever wants to talk.

During morning yoga, Tibb and Leigh discuss the difference between living and surviving. Tibb shares that Jackson brought him to the farm after he aged out of foster care, and that it was here he learned to live rather than merely survive. He advises Leigh to be conscious, present, and to find joy in small moments.

Inspired, Leigh cooks a full Southern breakfast for everyone using skills a kind maternal neighbor—Mrs. Byrd—taught her as a child. For Leigh, cooking is an act of redemption and gratitude towards Mrs. Byrd, who gave the girls safety and kindness. The men are stunned and delighted. Leigh reveals she also made fresh butter and shares that cooking was her job as a child because her mother disliked it, and formally apologizes for her earlier distance. In response, Tibb kisses her forehead, Luke hugs her, and Jackson squeezes her hand.

The men jokingly vote for Leigh to become the permanent cook, and she agrees to cook for a week. Jackson tells her it is okay to struggle with belonging but also okay to belong.

Leigh joins Jackson for their first nightly walk. When he notices she has drifted after he compliments her cooking, he introduces her to “grounding,” guiding her to focus on the sensation of grass under her feet to return to the present. He explains it reconnects people with nature and that one can hold both grief and joy at once.

Jackson mentions Lila’s name, and Leigh shuts down, saying she is not ready to talk about her sister and fears reliving the past. Jackson reassures her that healing is about progress and confronting fears. Leigh takes a small step, confirming her sister’s name was Lila and that they both loved to swim.

Tibb drives up and tells Jackson something is wrong with Luke. Leigh bakes an apple pie to keep busy until they return with Jackson carrying an unconscious, bruised Luke. Tibb explains Luke is drunk and fought his sister Heather’s abusive boyfriend. Jackson storms off to the Outlet to chop wood.

Leigh stays with Luke on the couch. Watching over him, she relives vivid memories of Deacon Ridley sexually assaulting Lila and her mother’s complicity. She holds Luke’s hand and cries for his pain and her own.

Jackson wakes Leigh on the floor beside Luke, a quilt covering her. In the kitchen, a bruised but recovering Luke joins them for a breakfast of apple pie, joking he should fight more often if it means pie for breakfast. Jackson and Tibb show their love through quiet gestures, and when Luke jokes that he and Leigh will have pie for breakfast every week when they marry, Leigh smiles through tears and agrees.