After Kaz and Jesper leave the confrontation with Geels, the Dregs celebrate their apparent victory over the Black Tips. Kaz notes that the crew’s excitement hides fear over Big Bolliger’s betrayal and Kaz’s brutal punishment of it. Kaz sends men to watch Big Bolliger and orders the rest to spread the story, knowing each retelling will strengthen Dirtyhands’ reputation.

Jesper angrily confronts Kaz for not warning him about Big Bolliger. Kaz refuses to reassure Jesper directly, instead offering him credit at the Crow Club, which tempts Jesper despite his resentment. Kaz walks alone toward Fifth Harbor, reflecting on how he raised the Dregs from a weak gang into a feared crew, and briefly wonders whether Per Haskell may have helped engineer the night’s danger as a test.

Inej shadows Kaz through the city and challenges him about the bluff involving Geels’ lover at Burstraat. Kaz admits indirectly that no fire was set, explaining that a feared monster does not need to commit every monstrous act. Their conversation turns to Big Bolliger, Rojakke’s skimming, greed, and Inej’s faith; Kaz relies on Inej’s skills but resents her moral pressure and unsettling silence.

After Inej leaves, Kaz is ambushed in an alley by a figure who seems to appear, vanish, and pass through walls. The impossible sight triggers Kaz’s panic and a memory of Jordie before Kaz realizes too late that he is facing something physical. The attacker injects Kaz with a needle, and Kaz loses consciousness.

Kaz wakes shackled in a luxurious room before Van Eck, a wealthy merchant connected to the Kerch Merchant Council. Kaz stalls, frees himself from the restraints, and takes Van Eck hostage with a letter opener until Van Eck calls in Mikka, a sickly Grisha Tidemaker who walks through a wall. Van Eck explains that jurda parem radically enhances Grisha powers, can kill ordinary people, and was sent to Kerch by Shu scientist Bo Yul-Bayur, who now needs to be retrieved from the Fjerdan Ice Court.

Van Eck offers Kaz a fortune to rescue Bo Yul-Bayur before the drug destabilizes governments, markets, and war. Kaz considers the impossible heist, the specialized crew he will need, the reputation it would bring, freedom from Per Haskell, and the revenge tied to Jordie. After seeing Hoede’s boathouse, where Anya’s parem-enhanced mind control left guards waiting helplessly and Hoede mutilated, Kaz recognizes Van Eck’s desperation and raises the price to thirty million kruge. Van Eck agrees, and Kaz leaves thinking about the crew required for the job.