Rowan regains consciousness in intense pain and gradually realizes she is being cared for by a small boy whose voice has been anchoring her through the fever. After Orly gives Rowan painkillers, Rowan learns she is not at the research base but in the lighthouse on Shearwater Island. Orly explains that his father is away dealing with storm damage, and Rowan pieces together that she survived a wreck in the storm that brought her ashore.

As Rowan recovers enough to ask questions, Orly brings her vodka, food, and tea, and chatters about seeds while Rowan tries to steady herself. Orly explains that Rowan was found the previous night with severe hypothermia and injuries from rocks, and that Fen swam out and dragged Rowan to shore. Rowan avoids asking directly about the boat because she already fears the answer: Yen, the man who brought her to the island, was likely taken by the merciless current Orly calls the Drift.

Rowan remembers hiring Yen, a former whaler, because he was the only person willing to take her on the dangerous journey to remote Shearwater. That memory turns Rowan's survival into guilt, because Rowan believes her own mission and arrogance caused Yen's death. The storm, Rowan's physical weakness, and Yen calling Rowan's name in the chaos stay with Rowan as proof of what the crossing cost.

Later, Rowan wakes in the dark needing the bathroom, discovers the power is out, and stumbles outside instead. Under the brilliant night sky, Rowan is overcome by the island's beauty and by her own weakness. Orly finds Rowan, helps Rowan sit with the pain, and proudly explains Shearwater's wildlife, geology, and the seed vault where Dominic is working. When Rowan cannot climb back upstairs, Rowan collapses on a couch, and Orly stays nearby until Rowan lets him share the blanket. In that cramped moment of warmth, Rowan asks about Orly's mother and learns she is dead; Rowan quietly answers that her own mother is dead too, creating a fragile bond between them.