In July 1914, Addie LaRue returns to rain-soaked Villon-sur-Sarthe and feels time collapse as the storm reminds her of childhood. She finds the village changed after two centuries and goes to the cemetery, laying wild roses on her parents’ graves before seeking Estele’s resting place for comfort she can no longer fully remember.

At Estele’s grave, Addie discovers the great tree that once stood there is gone, replaced by a jagged stump. The loss hits her with sudden, crushing grief, making her question the point of nurturing anything when everything dies and she alone persists, forgotten by all.

As dusk falls, Luc arrives behind her and, unusually, apologizes. Addie accuses him, but Luc insists nature is responsible; Addie sees the lightning-scorched split in the stump. Still shaken, Addie lets Luc lead her away, leaving Villon and deciding she will never return.

In Paris, Addie and Luc drink together and mark their anniversary. Addie needles him by calling him “my Luc,” and Luc admits—more humanly than usual—that he may understand the value of company and that he is with her more often than she thinks.

Luc then returns Addie’s old wooden ring, claiming he took it rather than destroyed it, and offers it as a means to summon him: if Addie puts it on, he will come. Addie recognizes it as a wager and refuses to use it, pocketing the ring instead. Luc warns that war is imminent, speaking bitterly of how war drives people back to faith and clinging to their souls; he urges Addie to leave and offers to take her, but she refuses. A week later Addie boards a ship for New York, and by the time she arrives, the world is already at war.