In the pre-dawn hours after her firing, Frankie McGrath returns to her parents’ gated Coronado home still wearing her bloodied nurse uniform. She drinks alone on the patio, reeling from anger, grief, and confusion, and missing the clarity she had in Vietnam. When Connor and Constance McGrath find her, Connor criticizes her for causing a scene at Becky Gillihan’s party and for exposing his lie that she had served in Florence. Frankie demands pride instead of shame and describes the dangers she faced in Vietnam, but Connor dismisses her and worries about his reputation.

Triggered by his contempt, Frankie storms into Connor’s office and tears down the “heroes’ wall,” accusing him of not understanding heroism. When Connor invokes Finley McGrath, Frankie lashes out, blaming Connor for pressuring Finley to go to war and for his death. Connor orders her out of the house. Frankie grabs Finley’s photo, packs quickly, and leaves, immediately regretting the cruelty of her words but unable to return.

Driving too fast and distraught, Frankie fumbles for cigarettes, is overwhelmed by grief and music on the radio, and swerves to avoid a dog, crashing into a streetlamp. Shaken and uninjured, she abandons the damaged car to be found under her father’s name and ferries to the mainland. Realizing she is still in her bloody uniform, she changes clothes and heads to the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic seeking help.

At the VA, a receptionist directs Frankie to Dr. Durfee. In his cramped office, Frankie explains her Vietnam service, Rye Walsh’s death, public hostility, losing her job, and her uncontrollable mood swings. Durfee responds with sexist disbelief, asking if she is menstruating, asserting there were no women in Vietnam, and telling her to forget about it and go have fun. Rejected, Frankie leaves in despair and uses a pay phone to call Barb Johnson collect.

On the phone, Frankie breaks down and admits her parents threw her out, she crashed her car, and she was fired. Barb tells her to get a room at the Crystal Pier Cottages and wait. Later, Barb and Ethel Flint arrive and find Frankie hungover and shaken. Frankie confesses she feels safer in Pleiku than at home and doesn’t know who she is without the Army or Rye. Barb and Ethel insist they have a plan to pull her out of this spiral.

They outline the plan: the three will go to Ethel’s father’s farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. Barb has joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War to give veterans a voice; Ethel will finish school; Frankie will be given time and space to figure out her path while they remodel a bunkhouse together. Buoyed by their support, Frankie agrees, joking about latrines, and the trio pledge to move forward “away from Vietnam.” They depart, stopping only to buy Frankie new shoes.