The chapter introduces Jasper, an elderly man with severe burn and grafting scars covering more than half his body and chronic psoriasis, who lives alone in a cabin bordering the Uwharrie National Forest with his old dog Arlo. Every Saturday, Jasper meets nine-year-old Mitch at a gazebo between their homes to whittle basswood figurines. Their friendship began the previous summer when Mitch, trespassing across Jasper's property on the way to the forest, stopped to admire Jasper's carvings. Despite being initially frightened by Jasper's appearance, Mitch—encouraged by his mother Dr. Kaitlyn Cooper, who is Jasper's physician—returned, and Jasper agreed to teach him whittling. During their Saturday session, Mitch tells Jasper about a white deer spotted in the Uwharrie, and Jasper mentions he plans to forage for morel mushrooms the next morning.

At Mitch's house, Jasper asks Kaitlyn about the white deer sighting and learns the photo was taken near Scenic Road, not far from his cabin. The next morning before dawn, Jasper hears a rifle shot—unusual because hunting season hasn't opened and rifles aren't used for turkey. After waiting for daylight and donning orange safety vests for himself and Arlo, he heads into the forest to forage for morels.

The narrative weaves in Jasper's backstory: his deep love for his late wife Audrey, who introduced him to morel foraging on the day she spontaneously climbed into his truck after his father's funeral when he was seventeen. Their first shared meal of morels cooked in butter became a tradition. Jasper also recalls his father—a devout, Bible-quoting peach orchard foreman who built the cabin with teenage Jasper after miraculously winning a land auction when a rainstorm washed out roads and eliminated other bidders. His father's faith traced back to Jasper's grandfather, a former gambler who became a preacher after witnessing fish falling from the sky.

While foraging, Arlo discovers a dead yearling deer, shot poorly through the belly and left to suffer—the source of the morning's rifle shot. Jasper marks the location with his bandanna, furious at the cruelty. He continues foraging and eventually encounters three teenagers in camouflage. The tall one carries a .30-06 rifle reeking of fresh gun oil. Jasper confronts them about the dead deer, directly accusing the tall teen. The confrontation escalates: Arlo charges and bites the tall teen's pants, the teen hits Arlo with the rifle stock, then aims at the retreating dog. Jasper deflects the barrel just as a shot fires. The teen then points the rifle at Jasper, threatening him before his companions—one possibly his brother—plead with him to leave.

Before departing, the tall teen crushes all of Jasper's morels underfoot, spits on the remains, and threatens to kill Arlo if he sees the dog again. After they leave, Jasper takes a nitroglycerin tablet for his racing heart, then whistles for Arlo, who emerges from the brush with gashes on his muzzle and head. Shaken and exhausted, Jasper picks up the empty bucket and mourns the destroyed morels, thinking Audrey would have been brokenhearted.