Nina wakes before dawn sick from her craving for jurda parem, worsened by her attempt to use her power during the Kherguud attack. Inej's return and the crew's new purpose help Nina rise despite her withdrawal. Nina thanks Inej for supporting the plan to help Ketterdam's Grisha escape, and Inej admits Van Eck's captivity was defined most of all by fear, though she insists revenge against him is her own debt to pay.

Kaz sends Nina and Matthias into the Ravkan quarter disguised as Fjerdan siblings, Sven and Catrine Alfsson, who are supposedly seeking asylum at the Ravkan embassy. Nina is annoyed by the plain clothes and wig, while Matthias unexpectedly finds her disguise beautiful. Their banter exposes their attraction and the tension between Matthias's Fjerdan background and Nina's Ravkan identity.

After leaving Black Veil, Nina and Matthias travel through Little Ravka, where Nina is struck by homesickness and unease. The market's food, icons, and customs remind Nina of home, but also seem strangely old-fashioned after Nina's year in Ketterdam. Matthias's intimidating manner draws hostile attention, so Nina tries to teach Matthias to look friendly, leading to awkward and comic exchanges with Ravkan vendors.

Nina and Matthias argue lightly over Ravkan saints, Grisha power, and Fjerdan prejudice, especially around Sankta Alina and Ravkan relics. Nina recognizes that Matthias has accepted Nina but not yet Ravka or Ravkan culture. Nina distracts Matthias with talk of a risqué Ravkan story about a Fjerdan barbarian and a Ravkan princess, which helps Matthias stop glaring long enough for them to reach their contact point.

At a tavern, Nina gives the coded greeting to a peddler and is directed inside, but the meeting is a trap. Armed people surround Nina and Matthias, and a hooded Heartrender begins slowing Nina's pulse. Matthias uses a duskbomb-like device to obscure the Heartrender's sight, and Nina, unable to sense living bodies as before, instead reaches a new awareness of nearby bones and sends relic fragments crashing through the tavern windows as shrapnel.

Before the attackers can fire, Zoya Nazyalensky appears and uses Squaller power to slam everyone, including Nina and Matthias, against the ceiling. Zoya recognizes Nina in shock, realizing Nina is alive, while also noticing Matthias as Nina's unexpected companion. The encounter turns the trap into a reunion with a powerful Ravkan ally.