Shaken after President Snow's visit, Katniss struggles to steady herself and grasps the scale of the threat against Gale and everyone she loves. She quickly hides her panic from her mother, claiming Snow's stop was a routine courtesy before the Victory Tour. While her mother prepares a bath, Katniss reflects on trying to repair their relationship since the Games and on how her mother's remark to reporters helped create distance between Katniss and Peeta once they returned home.

Alone in the bath, Katniss thinks through whom she can trust with Snow's warning. She rules out her mother, Prim, and Gale because telling them would only increase danger and might push Gale toward open rebellion. She also decides not to burden Cinna yet and cannot face explaining the situation to Peeta, so she settles on Haymitch as the person most likely to help her survive what comes next.

Katniss's prep team arrives and fusses over her neglected eyebrows, nails, and hair while chattering about Capitol fashions, the Victory Tour, and the upcoming Quarter Quell. Their excitement reminds Katniss that even after winning, she and Peeta are still trapped in the Capitol's system and will soon become mentors. When Katniss's mother helps recreate Katniss's reaping hairstyle, Katniss notices the prep team's sincere respect for her and briefly checks her own contempt for Capitol people.

Downstairs, Cinna lifts Katniss's mood as he coaches her through the fake "talent" of clothing design for the cameras. Effie Trinket keeps everyone on schedule, and Prim appears dressed for filming, which jolts Katniss into remembering Rue and the people she has not been able to save. Her mother gives her the mockingjay pin for luck, and when Katniss steps outside for the staged departure shot, President Snow's command to convince him is in her mind.

Seeing Peeta in the snow, Katniss commits to the performance and runs to him with real urgency. They fall into the snow and kiss for the first time in months, and Katniss feels again the steadiness and protection Peeta offered in the arena. Later that night on the train, Katniss gets Haymitch alone during a fuel stop and tells him about Snow's threat to Gale and the need to make the romance believable. Haymitch soberly explains that this is not just about the tour: as victors and future mentors, Katniss and Peeta will be forced to sustain their love story forever. Katniss finally understands the Capitol's long-term demand and realizes that, if she wants her loved ones to live, she may have to marry Peeta.