When Rowan and Raff do not return during the night, Dominic becomes frightened that something has gone wrong at sea. He goes to the beach and finds Fen lying among the seals, keeping watch on the southern horizon. Although Fen tries to reassure him that Rowan and Raff only went exploring, Dominic stays with her until morning, consumed by fear and by guilt over the lonely, harsh life Fen has made for herself on the island.

As they wait, Fen raises the family’s future. She refers to Orly’s earlier wish for Tasmania and asks whether that is where they will go. Dominic cannot explain his conflict: he knows they must leave Shearwater, but he is emotionally bound to the place and to the memory of Claire. Fen sees this clearly and tells him they cannot stay, not only because of the rising ocean, but because the island makes it too easy for him to keep clinging to Claire. Dominic, embarrassed and wounded, shuts the conversation down with a cruel denial.

Orly then joins them and gives Dominic a new reason to worry. Dominic asks what Rowan did with Orly at the base the previous day, and Orly says they were looking for a chemical used by biologists to detect copper and iron. Dominic does not understand exactly what Rowan is trying to prove, but the answer leaves him uneasy, because it suggests she is investigating something hidden.

The three of them walk up to the headland and keep watch over the water, with Dominic acutely aware that Raff would never stay away this long without warning him. Orly insists he would somehow know if anything bad had happened. At last Rowan and Raff appear in the Zodiac, and Dominic is flooded with relief, including an unexpected relief at seeing Rowan safe. But before they reach the beach, the boat stops. Dominic immediately sees the reason, watches what happens next, and is overcome by sudden dread.