Emily and Wendell set out in bitter weather to find the tree Thora described. The search proves easier than expected once they follow the river downstream, and they soon reach an unnaturally round clearing containing a white tree with mixed seasons on its branches: green leaves, autumn foliage, buds, and ripe fruit. Emily is thrilled by the discovery and immediately wants to examine it, while Wendell stays back at the riverbank and urgently tells Emily to come away.

When Wendell tries to compel Emily with enchantment, Emily resists by gripping the copper coin she carries against faerie influence. Angry that Wendell would manipulate her, Emily continues measuring the tree and collecting notes and a leaf sample. A leaf brushes Emily's fingertips and gives her a shock of cold, suggesting the tree has begun affecting her, but Emily hides this. Wendell, increasingly alarmed, orders Shadow to drag Emily away, and the dog obeys, pulling Emily back to the riverbank despite her protests.

As Emily turns her anger on Wendell, the ground bursts open and white roots seize Wendell instead, dragging him toward a hollow in the tree. Emily and Shadow try to free him, but the roots ignore Emily and keep pulling Wendell deeper. Under pressure, Emily realizes Wendell is one of the Folk and that some enchantment tied to his exile prevents him from saying so himself. Once Emily states that she already knows what he is, Wendell is able to use his magic: he disappears into the earth and emerges from a tree across the river, forcing the roots to stop at the water.

On the far bank, Emily briefly remains under the tree's influence and even asks for a piece of bark for her paper, but gripping the coin clears her mind. Wendell explains that the being inside the tree is an ancient king whose own people imprisoned him there and who now wants Wendell as a vessel, offering him power for whatever revenge he has imagined over centuries. Wendell refuses the temptation, though Emily notices his strange melancholy and the importance of what has just been revealed about him.

The return journey leaves Wendell nearly insensible with cold and exhaustion. Back at the cottage, Emily warms him, feeds him stew, chocolate, and her saved cheese, and privately enjoys having proved hardier than a faerie prince. Wendell recovers enough to complain, then falls asleep, and Emily is amused when one of his local admirers arrives for a planned visit, highlighting how unusual his weakness is.