Greenwood

Gertie and Everett watch the confrontation from the kitchen window. Gertie urges Everett to hide in the storm cellar under the library. Everett goes to the library and labels the diary “Proportee of Willo Greenwud,” giving Pod a new name before he hides the book on the shelves. He leaves the library copy of the Odyssey open on the table as a parting message for Temple. Afterward, he takes Pod and stows away on the next passing train.

Everett and Pod travel into the mountains. Though he holds off using the car’s coal stove as long as he can, the cold forces Everett to keep Pod warm. Somebody knocks on the car door.

Harris constructs a cabin retreat on his new island. Meanwhile, Harris’s logging crews get to work clearing the island forest to meet their Japanese clients’ demands.

After Harris and Feeney indulge in their regular Friday picnic, they are visited by Lomax, whom Baumgartner informed of Harris’s whereabouts. Lomax passes along Harris’s service photograph to press his claim that Everett went to war in his brother’s place. While Feeney is away, Harris admits that Lomax’s claim is right but puts the blame on the induction officers. Lomax alludes to Harris and Feeney’s intimate encounter at the party, insinuating his intention to blackmail them. Lomax instructs Harris to let him know if Everett ever tries to contact him. He promises to visit Harris’s offices regularly to pressure him.

Temple’s workers betray her out of resentment for Everett’s special treatment. McSorley accepts Temple’s alibi but warns Temple about a coming cyclone. His forecast holds true, prompting Temple and her remaining workers to seek shelter in the storm cellar. She grieves the library’s destruction.

Harris brings Feeney to the newly christened “Greenwood Island.” He unveils their new cabin, which they spend the day in. The next day, as they walk through the forest, Harris declares his intention to sell his timber company once they have finished their contract with the Japanese government. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Feeney on the island.

While Feeney protests the idea of leaving Everett to survive on his own, Harris stresses that Lomax’s threat could potentially destroy Harris’s fortune. Feeney relents to Harris’s wishes and requests to build a second door in the rear of the house.

After being thrown off the train, Everett is apprehended in an affluent village called Firvale. He appears before a judge on charges of breaking and entering, theft, and destruction of property. Everett tries to explain his situation, but the judge refuses to grant him any clemency. The judge declares that Pod will be entrusted to his family. Everett claims to have no relatives, so Pod is placed in government custody.

During his incarceration, Everett is plagued by worries about Pod’s well-being. He finally asks a janitor to reach out to his brother, who built Firvale.

Milner informs Harris about Everett’s incarceration. Feeney believes the request is real, though Harris wonders why Everett would reach out to him now. He summons Lomax to his office, believing that Everett will avoid prosecution if Lomax can ensure the return of Holt’s property. Feeney disapproves of involving Lomax.

McSorley confronts Everett in his jail cell. Everett claims that Pod is his daughter, so McSorley challenges him with questions about her birth. After pressuring Everett to come clean, McSorley promises to come back the following morning. When he does, he is accompanied by Lomax. Lomax takes Everett into his custody.

Lomax takes Everett and Pod onto a private train coach owned by Harris. Lomax had vouched for Everett’s story, allowing him to escape McSorley’s custody. He demands to know the location of the diary, but Everett refuses to give it up. Lomax chokes Everett in anger, so Everett claims that he mailed the diary to Harris. Lomax takes him to Vancouver.

Everett watches Harris deftly chop firewood before revealing himself. Their reunion is marked by curt quips. Everett tries to explain why he returned home late after the war. He asks for his stake in the Craig inheritance so that Pod can be raised well. Harris agrees to give Everett his money but insinuates that Everett took his place in the war to prove that he was the better brother. Everett insists that he wanted to help Harris, but Harris suggests he never needed help, considering the empire he has built in the intervening years.

Feeney interjects, calming Harris down. He brings up Lomax’s claim that the baby belongs to Holt, which leads Harris to reveal that Lomax is blackmailing them. Everett indicates that Lomax is really looking for the diary. Because he left it in Temple’s library, however, they decide to forge one using Feeney’s literary skills.

Temple, Gertie, and the workers emerge from the storm cellar to salvage what is left of the farm. With everything destroyed, Temple and Gertie spend the next few weeks residing in a Presbyterian church. They are surprised when many of Temple’s past workers return to give her valuable items out of gratitude for her previous charity.

Lomax is convinced by the forged diary and leaves the baby behind with the Greenwoods. Excited by the prospect of being welcomed back by Holt and his family, Lomax decides to celebrate by booking an expensive hotel suite. He flips through the diary and is surprised to learn that Euphemia wrote nothing about him or Holt. He finishes his opium supply and then goes out for an expensive dinner. He purchases a first-class ticket back home and informs Lavern of his imminent return. Wandering into Chinatown, he becomes curious when he sees an opium den inside a hotel called the New Sun Wah.

Harris offers to let Everett and Pod stay on Greenwood Island to avoid further trouble. While Harris remains on the mainland to conduct business, Feeney comes weekly to deliver supplies to the island. Everett builds a work shed where he can complete carpentry projects. He and Pod take regular walks around the island. To keep in touch with Harris, Everett learns to use a shortwave radio. Harris doesn’t answer until Everett tells him about the largest tree on the island.

Lomax spends several weeks in the New Sun Wah, nursing his opium addiction. The attendant who looks after Lomax later gives him laudanum, causing him to form a new addiction. Lomax begins to understand why his father abandoned his family.

Everett misses Temple and thinks of a way to lure her to the island and retrieve the diary. He then starts planning how to earn money as a carpenter for Pod’s education. One day, he discovers a buck carcass and wonders if cougars have found their way onto the island. He sets bear traps to prevent them from reaching the cabin.

Harris and Everett talk about giving Pod a proper name, but Everett is reticent to reveal the one he has in mind. Harris is more relaxed now that his business with the Japanese clients is settling down. They reminisce about their childhood. Everett makes Harris promise to take care of Pod if he cannot. Harris worries that something bad will happen soon.

The Mounties raid the New Sun Wah, forcing Lomax to reveal his connection to Mr. Holt. They are about to send him back to Saint John when he runs off to his hotel and demands his belongings back, including the diary. When he inserts the diary into the slipcase, he finds that it doesn’t fit and realizes that it is a forgery. He tells the Mounties that Everett kidnapped Holt’s daughter. He resolves to find him through Harris.

Everett is bothered by the noise of a ship approaching the island. Looking out, he sees Mounties surrounding the cabin, led by McSorley and Lomax. Everett prepares to fire his rifle at them but changes his mind when he realizes how young they all are. He goes to the shortwave radio and reveals the real name he gave Pod.

Feeney deduces that Harris gave up his brother to Lomax. Harris stresses that he did so to protect their relationship and their reputations. Feeney is so disgusted by Harris’s betrayal that he suggests going to the island to rescue Everett and Pod. As Feeney’s employer, Harris bars him from going there, so Feeney resigns his post as a describer. Harris insults Feeney and waits for him to retort, but when moments pass without a reply, he realizes that Feeney has left him.

Holt tells Lomax he wants both the diary and the baby, promising to forgive all his debts if Lomax succeeds. Lomax teams up with McSorley and hires new Mounties to accompany them on their island raid. They set a perimeter around what they believe is the cabin’s only door. While waiting for Everett to react, one of the boys gets caught in a bear trap. The panic causes the Mounties to fire their rifles.

Bullets tear through the cabin, reminding Everett of his wartime experience. One bullet hits him through his back. Everett takes Willow with him to escape.

Lomax and McSorley urge the Mounties to stop firing, but they do not listen until they have exhausted their ammunition. Lomax enters the house to get to the diary ahead of McSorley. He takes some more laudanum, but this causes him to hallucinate that he is back in the woods where he found the deceased Euphemia. Euphemia pleads with him to let her keep her baby, but Lomax encourages her to let go of the child.

Everett and Willow escape through the back door of the house. He tries to minimize his tracks but struggles to move with his bullet wound. He vividly remembers his wartime travels through Europe before his mind jumps back to even earlier memories.

Everett reaches the jetty and hopes that his brother will come to save them. Desperate to save Willow, he hides her in a supply box, remembering the H.G. Wells novel The Time Machine from Temple’s library.

Everett is arrested on Greenwood Island, claiming to have killed Holt’s baby. Lomax returns to the reopened New Sun Wah to relieve the trauma of losing the child to Everett. He never returns to Saint John, and his family moves on without him.

Lomax dies years later of a heroin overdose, holding onto the slipcase. He sees a vision of his children, which includes Euphemia’s baby. Before dying, he remembers how Euphemia had asked him to pretend that her baby was his as well so that she could keep her. He feels responsible for the deaths of Euphemia and her child.

Temple rebuilds her farm with the valuables her former workers gave her. Some of the workers salvage her books from the dirt. Sometime later, Temple encounters McSorley, who informs her that he has been promoted. By now, Temple has heard the sensational news story that Holt’s baby was killed by her kidnapper. She cannot reconcile the story with the man she knew. She often thinks of the cyclone and imagines how it stole her favorite books, making a sound that reminds her of birds.