At the fair, a fortune-teller tells Lettie to "Beware." Benoit dismisses this, but Lettie discovers that he has a knife in his hat, and when Benoit says that Grace brought her death upon herself, Lettie counters that he doesn't believe this.

On his way to a peyote ceremony, Michael Horse encounters Moses. At the ceremony, a veteran, Keto, prays for guidance: a lawyer has "invested" his oil money in a house and then moved his own family into that house. Ben Graycloud then prays, beginning with the statement that he has felt unsafe since Grace was killed.

At this point, a loud bang interrupts the meeting. Lettie and Benoit, at the fair, hear it, too. When Benoit returns home, he finds that his home is no longer there—it has exploded, and a sheriff is waiting to arrest him. Sara has been killed, although her housekeeper, Mrs. Inman, was thrown clear.

Michael Horse has seen Benoit and Lettie together and is concerned about Benoit's arrest. He goes to see Mrs. Inman, who tells him Sara had been concerned about Grace's grave having been robbed. Michael cannot think of anyone who might have had a motive other than Benoit, who would inherit Sara's wealth.

Belle does not want Lettie to visit Benoit in jail until she dreams of her grandmother in a traditional "tear" dress. She and Lettie, clothed in traditional garb, go to the jail and are allowed to enter by guards who "romanticize" Indians. Lettie tells Benoit that someone, identity unknown, has put in a claim for Sara's money. Benoit insists he has been framed.

Lionel Tall, a Lakota medicine man, writes to Stace to tell him an innocent man is being held for the murder of two women, Sara and Grace. Ballard, the section chief, tells Stace he is assigned to a case in Arizona; they have no jurisdiction in Indian territory.

Nola is suffering from the loss of her mother and is especially drained on the day Grace's body is ordered to be exhumed to confirm cause of death. At the sight of the empty grave, the gathered company are horrified. Nola does not improve, not having spoken since her mother died.

An auction for drill sites is coming up; the night before is a celebration in town. Louise Graycloud socializes with Jim Josh, telling him a man named Tex the Younger has found three kidnapped Indian girls, all pregnant. They had been given up for dead. Jim Josh walks home alone, singing sadly to himself. On the walk, he encounters Michael Horse, whom he asks for a lift. Horse obliges and is surprised to see a car parked outside of Jim's house.

Horse sees Louise and Floyd "half-staggering" out of a speakeasy. Horse tells Floyd that he has a bad feeling about John Thomas, a friend of Floyd's. But the pair are drunk and take little notice. At this point, John Stink suddenly collapses, to the surprise of everyone, and is pronounced dead by the doctor.

Hale tells another man, Mardy, that Walker is suicidal and that if he kills himself, his life insurance policy, which Hale holds, will be void. He suggests the pair should kill him instead.

John Thomas is driving drunkenly into town, shouting that he knows who killed Grace. Floyd wakes in the night with a bad feeling of his own and goes to John Thomas's house, only to find it empty.

John Stink is buried. Belle attends but is distracted by worry about Nola. Later that night, John Thomas is found on the side of the road, shot through the neck. Belle tells Louise she will no longer speak to her, as she does nothing but go to parties while everything falls apart.

A wildfire starts up and burns rapidly. Nola is terrified by this, and Belle finds her pressed to the wall in her bedroom, sobbing. One watcher comes in to comfort her, and Belle feels sure that this watcher is Nola's father.

John Stink rises up out of his grave that night. He believes he is a ghost; his dogs are very happy to see him, and he can think of nothing to do but return to his house.

The sheriff comes to wake Horse and tells him he is arresting him for the murder of John Thomas. The next morning, Belle is walking when she sees a truck full of eagle carcasses; as eagles are sacred to the Indians, she is incensed and is arrested for public disturbance, at which point she is taken to jail and sees that Horse is there. Horse tells her that he foresaw John Thomas's death and that now they think he, Horse, is guilty of it. Moses comes to the jail and provides an alibi for Horse, whereupon he is released.

Moses and Horse write two letters to the president complaining about the murders on Indian land and the killing of the eagles. They are both written in Horse's hand but are signed with different names. 

Ben and Floyd return to the Graycloud house and say they have seen the ghost of John Stink. Before long, he has been seen by many people, who leave food for him and his dogs. Ceremonies are held for his soul. Louise worries that ghost sickness is the cause of Rena's recent bedwetting episode.

Men from the Indian Agency arrive and say that Nola must report to the Indian School in town. They will not listen to Belle's statements that Nola is unwell.

Walker's body is found propped against a tree, and Dr. Black, the medical examiner, tells the sheriff he feels he was murdered. Black writes a letter to Washington.

Stace Red Hawk passes the information he has to a journalist, Charles Wilson. When the article appears in The Washington Post, Stace tells Levee that surely now they can investigate.

At school, Nola refuses to wear the uniform and misbehaves constantly, to the point that the headmistress, Mrs. Seward, develops stress headaches. The watchers follow Nola to the school. Nola informs Mr. Forrest, her court-appointed guardian, that these are her real guardians. Forrest takes Nola to sign papers confirming her ownership of her mother's wealth.

A trader comes to Watona and asks if Moses has any horses to trade. Moses says he wants to sell the ones he has left, but the trader says he wouldn't be able to offer a fair price. As a compromise, he says he will buy Moses's horses but will leave him a young colt as a trade.

Moses drives Belle to the Billys' house at her request. Belle tells Joe they must "find a way" to put an end to this, and Joe confesses he is losing his Christian faith and dreaming of his father, "surrounded by crystals." 

Horse decides he is going to trade his car for Benoit's stallion, Redshirt. Moses says he cannot, as Redshirt belongs to Benoit, but offers to exchange the stallion for the car for now. As the horse is too tall for him to mount, Horse walks alongside it toward the bluffs.