On the morning the Victory Tour begins, Katniss sits for hours in the freezing woods, dreading the day ahead. She reflects on how winning the Hunger Games has left her wealthy but miserable, since the Capitol now expects her to relive the Games publicly and perform gratitude for the system that nearly killed her. She also thinks about how much her life has changed: Gale now works long shifts in the mines, she checks their snares alone, and the easy closeness they once shared has been damaged by the Games and by her public romance with Peeta.

Katniss gathers a strong haul from the traps and returns through the fence into District 12. She changes clothes at her old house, which still feels more like home than the luxurious victor's house in Victor's Village, and she briefly finds comfort in caring for Prim's cat, Buttercup. She then brings game to Gale's family, where Hazelle gratefully accepts it. While talking with Hazelle, Katniss is reminded that Gale's Sundays are reserved for her, which embarrasses her and deepens her guilt because she knows the staged love story with Peeta has hurt Gale and will have to continue on the tour.

Katniss next visits the Hob, the black market that once helped keep her family alive. She spends some of her winnings on supplies and buys white liquor for Haymitch, remembering a recent shortage that sent him into terrifying withdrawal. Along the way she interacts with Head Peacekeeper Cray, Greasy Sae, and Darius, and she is reminded again of the Capitol's false public story that Gale is her cousin. These exchanges show how her fame has altered ordinary life in District 12 without making her feel any safer or freer.

At Victor's Village, Katniss goes first to Haymitch's filthy house to wake him for the cameras. When shaking him fails, she dumps freezing water on him, nearly provoking him to attack before he regains his senses. Peeta arrives with fresh bread, and the awkwardness between him and Katniss becomes immediately clear: after the cameras stopped, their relationship has become formal and strained, even though they must soon resume their role as devoted lovers for the Capitol. Haymitch bluntly points out that the two of them need to fix this before the tour begins.

Katniss heads home and is met by her anxious mother and a Capitol man who says someone is waiting in the study. Expecting more tour instructions, Katniss tries to stay calm, but her mother's fear and the closed study door warn her that something is wrong. Inside, Katniss smells roses and blood, sees a small white-haired man reading, and realizes with shock that the visitor is President Snow.