Katarina and Heath travel to Moscow for the Rostelecom Cup, their first time in Russia since 2005. Although the invitation appears official, Katarina understands that the Russian federation likely wants Volkova and Kipriyanov to face and possibly embarrass them on home ice before Sochi. In Moscow, Heath unexpectedly shares pieces of his earlier life there, showing Katarina parts of the city and hinting at hardships he has rarely discussed.

At the arena, the atmosphere is openly hostile. The local crowd roars for the Russian teams and then falls silent for Katarina and Heath, reinforcing that they are unwelcome challengers. Bella frames that hostility as proof that the reigning Russians still see them as a threat, and Katarina reflects that while Yelena and Dmitri have dominated for years, she and Heath have spent months pushing themselves in a more collaborative training environment with Bella.

The chapter then turns to the short dance, built around the demanding Finnstep. Katarina watches the first Russian team skate too fast and lose the dance's precision, a reminder of how easy it is to make mistakes in this event. As Katarina and Heath prepare, Katarina fights her nerves, focusing on their program and their chance to rattle the favorites even if they do not win.

When Katarina and Heath take the ice second, another slight tied to their lack of recent ranking, Heath is distracted at the start by Veronika Volkova standing at the boards beside Bella. Katarina tells Heath to keep his eyes on her, and they recover their focus well enough to perform the opening turns in strong synchronization, even drawing some applause from the crowd.

During the required stationary footwork section, Heath suddenly begins to fall. Katarina feels the break in their hold immediately and tries to steady him, but Heath twists to protect Katarina from his blade and crashes to the ice, wrenching his back. While their music continues, Heath tells Katarina that his blade hit something.

Katarina searches the ice where they had been skating and sees tiny glinting specks. When she touches one, it sticks to her finger: a sequin. The chapter ends on the realization that something on the ice caused Heath's fall, turning a difficult comeback event into what looks like deliberate sabotage.