Kaz, Jesper, and Inej disembark at Ketterdam, where they are immediately arrested for murder and interrogated by Dreesen for not arriving with Alina. Kaz deduces that Dreesen is merely a middleman, and their real employer is the pirate Stormhund, who seeks Alina for the (now even bigger) bounty on her head. Kaz confirms that Alina was en route to Noyvi Zem.
In Noyvi Zem, Alina has increasing nightmares of Kirigan and the Fold. Mal and Alina try to track down the Sea Whip. However, they are spotted by the First Army, but are able to escape by chartering a boat from a pair of twin mercenaries, Tolya and Tamar, who turn out to be working for Stormhund.
Inej learns that the Crows were framed by Pekka for the murder of Tante Heleen, and that Pekka now owns both the Crow Club and the Menagerie. Nina rescues her from a group of guards. Meanwhile, Kaz touches base with Wylan, a chemist and explosives expert. Nina asks for their assistance in freeing Matthias from Hellgate. Kaz says he can get Nina a visit in exchange for her services: he's blown up the Crow Club and declared war on Pekka.
In Ravka, the First Army has turned on the Grisha, and a group of them has locked some Grisha (including Genya) up in cages near the slowly expanding Fold. Kirigan kills the members of the First Army and frees the Grisha.
Tropes:
- Dislikes the New Guy: Jesper doesn't think that Wylan is a good demolitions man, given that he has all his fingers and most of those in the Barrel become careful from losing them; Wylan retorts that maybe he's just careful.
- Feet-First Introduction: Tolya and Tamar are introduced feet-first as they walk into the scene and observe the commotion around them.
- Genocide Backfire: The sudden Ravkan pogroms against the Grisha are driving many back to the General's fold.
- Heroic Bystander: A crowd of Zemeni civilians step in to buy Alina and Mal some time to escape the First Army out of respect for her.
- Karmic Death: The First Army soldiers suffer one of these when they attempt to murder a bunch of innocent Grisha.
- Off with His Head!: A volcra swiftly decapitates a member of the First Army offscreen. It's doubly chilling because they were not supposed to be capable of leaving the Fold.
- Remember the New Guy?: It's revealed Wylan was the one who made the phosphorous bomb that Kaz used against Kirigan, even though a good demolition man could have been really helpful at several points last season; it's explained that Wylan's help was a "one-time thing" that presumably didn't necessitate further involvement then.
- Sherlock Scan: Just by noticing his outfit and body language, Kaz deduces that their employer is the other man in the room.
- Spotting the Thread: Kaz reveals he's known for a while about Jesper being a Durast by how he fixed a gun without moving, repaired Kaz's cane without tools and never misses a shot.
- There Is Only One Bed: The Zemeni inn only provides Alina and Mal one bed. Mal graciously offers it to Alina, but she goads him into laying down next to her. This leads into a brief makeout session on the bed before they set out for the day.
