The morning after Lesley's confession, Willie reflects on her revelations and records them in his journal. He suspects she and Sun Yat Sen were lovers and intends to mine more of her story for material, sensing he has struck a 'thin seam of gold' for a future book.

On the beach, Willie finally tells Gerald that he has lost all his money in a bad investment. Gerald reacts with anger and dismay, realizing their luxurious lifestyle—first-class cabins, a planned villa together—is over. Willie demands secrecy and asks Gerald to curb his reckless spending. Gerald walks off across the exposed seabed, leaving Willie fearful that Gerald will abandon him now that he is broke.

The narrative flashes back to autumn 1913, when Willie met Syrie Wellcome at a neighbor's dinner party and began an affair with the famous society hostess. Despite his refusal to father a child while she was still married, Syrie deceitfully became pregnant. Willie, enraged, fled to France to serve in the Red Cross ambulance corps when war broke out, treating horrifically wounded soldiers at a chateau hospital near Boulogne.

One night on a balcony seeking solitude under the stars, Willie met Gerald Haxton, a fellow Red Cross volunteer. After Willie quoted Ovid, the two talked of postwar dreams. Gerald asked whether Willie wanted something from him or from life, then casually invited him to share gin in his room—the simple beginning of their relationship.

Back in 1921, Willie is interviewed by Lesley's brother Geoff Crosby, a journalist. Willie deflects personal questions and discusses his Lambeth midwifery training, China, and his writing. He shares his secret for getting people to confide: offer something shameful about yourself first. Geoff describes Sun Yat Sen as a manipulative but charismatic man, and confirms that Lesley grew close to him. Afterward, Willie studies photographs in Geoff's book on Sun, marveling at how their lives have intersected, and recalls vaguely the London kidnapping of Sun—an event overshadowed at the time by the Oscar Wilde scandal and his circle's panic.