Birdie takes long walks when she takes a break from reading. One evening, she gets lost in the woods and is startled by bats before finding the home of her landlords, Thelma and Hal. They invite her to stay for dinner.

During dinner, Birdie explains that she was a projectionist before her job was made obsolete by digital technology. She tells Thelma and Hal that she was “outed” and had no choice but to leave New York, a statement that leaves Thelma and Hal confused. After Hal says that he always wanted to direct movies, he admits that he has a pathological lying disorder caused by an excess of “white matter” in his brain. When they ask why Birdie is on the island, she claims that she’s hiding from a felon. She then recants, saying that she wasn’t being entirely truthful, and they laugh it off. Birdie, Hal, and Thelma share a bottle of wine and taste some bourbon. Birdie then confesses that a “bad man,” a rapist, ruined her life, and she alludes to a plan she made on the ferry. 

A new tenant, a woman named Nevra, arrives late with her dog, Amanda. Birdie introduces herself to Nevra as “Jade.” Birdie passes out on Thelma’s couch and wakes up later, full of shame, and quietly leaves. On her walk back to her cabin, she trips and lies on the forest floor, watching slugs move around her.

In an email to Birdy from Odette Carlisle, who introduces herself as a recent graduate from New York University working in media, she explains that she has been researching Birdie’s case against Calvin and found her identity by accessing her parents’ court records. Odette criticizes the “racism” of the pseudonym used for Birdie, Jade Suzuki, in Linzie’s book.

Odette wants to reexamine Birdie’s case, believing that Birdie, as a “Queer Woman of Color” (80), was treated unfairly by the legal system. She reveals that she’s creating a true-crime podcast, tentatively titled Carlisle Files, and wants to feature Birdie’s story. She proposes that she and Birdie team up to “dismantle the Linzie of it all” (81). She offers potential compensation but concludes by stating that the podcast will be made with or without Birdie’s consent.

Mary-Beth is planning Calvin’s funeral. Syl is staying with her, but Mary-Beth is irritated by her presence. To ensure that people know the son she loved, Mary-Beth makes collages of his favorite things for the funeral.

To her surprise, the service is well attended by many strangers. She wonders who they are and if one of them killed her son. Syl reads a eulogy that Mary-Beth wrote, which describes Calvin’s difficult life and loving nature. At the cemetery, the burial is interrupted by a large group of protestors wearing green wigs and masks. They carry signs with Calvin’s mugshot and a yearbook photo of Linzie King, chanting and displaying slogans like “God Hates Calvin Boyer” and “HER TURN” (91).

In an email to Birdie, Calvin writes that he still thinks of her, unlike the other girls he hurt, and remembers her kindness on the school bus. He recalls noticing that she sometimes sat near his father at the front of the bus, thinking she wanted protection from someone. He says he’s sorry—he only thought he was protecting her. He says that he wishes he could “fix” himself and tries to explain his behavior by saying that it’s easy to rationalize hurting someone when you want something badly enough. He states that Birdie seemed mature for her age and that he felt a “true love” for her. 

Calvin dismisses the things that “Lindsay” said about him on television as lies, and he asks Birdie to help him discredit her before her book is released. He signs off by inviting her to visit him at Gateway to Grace, a treatment facility that he calls a “compound made for healing” (93).

Trace calls Birdie to say that she’s coming to Whidbey Island; she’s worried about Birdie’s dark mood. When Trace arrives, there’s a cautious distance between them. They go to a local bar, where Trace urges Birdie to call her mother. She also offers an update on Birdie’s legal situation: A podcaster is trying to contact them, and Birdie’s mother is optimistic that Calvin’s recent letters, used as evidence, will help at the upcoming renewal of the order of protection against Calvin.

Back at the cabin, Birdie initiates aggressive sex, pinning Trace down and ignoring their usual consent rituals. As she orgasms, she repeats Linzie King’s name in her head, feeling a sense of power. On Trace’s last morning, they go to a coffee shop. Trace suddenly becomes anxious and hurries Birdie outside. Suspicious, Birdie goes back in, pretending that she needs the restroom. She discovers what Trace was hiding: a flyer for Linzie’s book signing in Seattle, scheduled for two days later.

Mary-Beth drives to the Gateway to Grace facility to clean out Calvin’s apartment. She packs his belongings while recalling a psychic’s prediction that Calvin would live a long life, which fueled her fantasy of them moving to Wyoming. In a desk drawer, she finds a copy of Linzie’s memoir. She is shocked: Calvin had made her promise never to read the book and to hide it if she ever saw it in a store. She opens the book and discovers Calvin’s furious, defensive notes scrawled in the margins, along with a Polaroid of his penis.

At the bottom of the drawer, she finds a legal pad with a list of three names: Jacy Farrow, Wilma Dean Loomis, and Judy Barton. Believing that it may be a clue to his murder, she takes it. Mary-Beth then works her night shift at the North Pole gas station, which is perpetually decorated for Christmas. She’s stunned when her ex-husband, Tommy, walks in. He appears sober and healthy, and he tells her that they need to talk about Calvin.

Birdie attends Linzie’s reading at a bookstore in Seattle. She sits near the front, planning to ask Linzie to sign her book to “Jade Suzuki,” the pseudonym Linzie gave her. Linzie reads from her memoir, and Birdie finds the writing cliché and the audience’s adoration unsettling.

While waiting in line for the book signing, Birdie is spotted by Havi, Trace’s cousin, who cuts in line with her friends. Havi tells her friends that Birdie is on Whidbey “hiding from her own Calvin” (126), disclosing Birdie’s private situation without her consent. Suddenly, a staff member announces that the signing has been canceled, and they quickly learn from their phones that Calvin has been found dead. The news ripples through the line, with people expressing relief and making callous remarks about his death. One of Havi’s friends remarks to Birdie that the news must be very “triggering” for her.