Twelve years earlier, Sara Foster, a twenty-three-year-old registered nurse, returns to her job in the burn unit on the fifth floor of Spokane's Sacred Heart Hospital after a vacation spent cleaning her mother's house so her brother Denny, recently evicted, could move in. Her coworker Kym briefs her on a new admit: Milo Phillips, a Montana cop with extensive third-degree burns on his arms and torso, plus second- and first-degree burns elsewhere, sustained in a meth-house explosion. Sara takes the side of the unit that includes Milo and her favorite patient, Luna.

Sara visits Luna, a teenage girl burned in a car accident who now sports neon purple hair on the half of her head that can still grow it. Sara gives Luna a purple tea light to add to her glowing collection. Luna shares hospital gossip, including a remark that Dr. Vernon has been asking about Sara's return-something that adds to Sara's growing unease about the doctor's increasingly forward behavior. Luna, who has nicknamed the unit the Candle Palace because she sees herself as a candle kept from going out, asks Sara to bring a yellow tea light to their new neighbor.

Sara reflects on her quiet, routine-driven life: living alone, lacking close friends, and finding her sense of purpose mainly through her patients. While carrying supplies, she collides with Dr. Vernon, who holds her shoulders too long and lets his eyes linger on her lips, deepening her discomfort. He brusquely enters Milo's room, announces plans to begin debriding Milo's rib burns later that day, and leaves Sara to change dressings.

Alone with Milo, Sara is struck by his handsome face and gentle voice. When his eyes briefly clear and meet hers, she recognizes the kind eyes she has always been drawn to, then chastises herself for the inappropriate thought. As she begins removing his bandages, Milo's lucidity dissolves into a piercing roar of agony, confirming Sara's quiet certainty that his recovery will be brutal.